U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reported on Friday a record-breaking surge in applications for air traffic controller positions, with over 8,004 candidates submitting their applications within just 13 hours.
“In just 13 HOURS: 8,004 Americans applied to join our controller ranks — that’s over 10 applications EVERY MINUTE! EVEN BETTER, 7,252 applicants are qualified!” Duffy stated at a Washington, DC event.
The initiative targets video game enthusiasts following an internal survey revealing only three out of 250 recent air traffic academy graduates did not play video games. “We’ve had a flood of young people coming in that want to be air traffic controllers,” Duffy said. “They have to be qualified. We have to go through an assessment process. But this has been wildly successful.”
The Department noted the number of air traffic controllers retiring daily tripled during last year’s government shutdown, which left federal workers without paychecks for over a month. In his 2027 budget proposal, Duffy requested $481 million to address the hiring surge as part of efforts to strengthen air traffic control staffing. The campaign began with an online video encouraging gamers to “level up” their careers in aviation.
