Agency Weighs National Security Concerns With the Growing Staff Gap

The FAA is reportedly looking into some more bold methods of filling the US’s pressing air traffic controller (ATC) shortage: recruiting experienced international personnel. Doing so would put a big question mark on whether understaffed towers could be more dangerous than placing foreign nationals in incredibly safety-sensitive positions.

On the chopping block is a decades-old policy: non-citizens aren’t allowed to work as controllers because they can’t get federal security clearances. ATCs are often privy to sensitive airspace data, including military movements, so any policy change would likely require either altering clearance standards or creating some sort of special expedited citizenship pipeline. A draft executive memo outlining the proposal reportedly calls for a “structured pathway” that would include years of training and eventual eligibility for FAA employment.

Union leadership is expected to push back, and security personnel inside the agency are, allegedly, “losing their minds” at the idea. Officials who claim connections to the matter have expressed serious concern about access to radar systems, communication networks, and restricted airspace information.

On paper, the plan might help address a dire shortage that’s left towers across the country undermanned and overworked. The FAA has struggled for years to train and retain controllers fast enough to keep pace with growing air traffic. Adding skilled personnel from countries with robust ATC systems could provide some relief… assuming legal and political barriers can be overcome.

The memo compares the strategy to institutions that admit international students, though it doesn’t directly address how that squares with a political climate that has grown increasingly hostile to immigration. The White House has repeatedly touted a return to “America First” policies that emphasize domestic labor and reduced reliance on foreign workers.

A Department of Transportation spokesperson confirmed that “every option” is under consideration. For now, though, the FAA hasn’t committed to the idea. But the very fact that it’s being discussed reflects how dire the staffing problem has become, and how far the agency might be willing to go to fix it.

FMI: www.faa.gov