The FAA has been raiding gamer dens to plug its air traffic controller shortage.
According to CBS News, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a recent social media post that the gamer recruitment campaign had been a “game changer” for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FAA hired more than 2,000 video gamers to train as air traffic controllers, hitting 94 per cent of its hiring goal, according to the Transportation Department.
Duffy said more than 2,000 other candidates are in the hiring pipeline. When Duffy announced the wheeze in April, he admitted the Transportation Department needed to cast a wider net for future controllers.
“A lot of what they do playing games… is what they do… controlling traffic in the air,” Duffy told CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Duffy said many current trainees started as gamers. Former controllers say gaming uses similar skills, including quick thinking, focus and juggling multiple data streams.
Only about 25 per cent of controllers hold a traditional college degree. Controllers guide more than 80,000 flights to their destinations each day.
The money is decent if candidates make it through the grinder. In 2024, the median annual wage for air traffic controllers was $144,580.
Pay varies by experience and location. Less experienced controllers at smaller airports earn close to $60,000 a year on average, according to aviation experts.
A December report from the US Government Accountability Office warned of a major controller shortage. It said the gap could lead to more flight delays and cancellations.
A government shutdown late last year did not help. Controllers are classed as essential staff, so they had to keep working without pay. That sort of arrangement tends to make people reconsider a career, even before the stress of keeping metal tubes apart at 30,000 feet.
Before reaching the FAA’s Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City, candidates face a brutal application process.
Applicants must hold US citizenship, be under 31, pass FAA pre-employment tests, and clear an aptitude exam meant to predict whether they can handle the job. The FAA says candidates are told within a week whether they passed. Historically, less than 10 per cent of applicants met the agency’s requirements.
