FAA opens air‑traffic controller hiring window

The Federal Aviation Administration will open its annual air traffic controller hiring window at 12 a.m. Eastern on April 17 as it tries to add staff to a system that manages millions of daily passengers. (faa.gov) The agency’s recruiting page says applicants should apply early because the announcement can close before everyone submits an application. The campaign says the Federal Aviation Administration’s roughly 14,000 controllers guide 2.9 million daily passengers. (faa.gov) The Federal Aviation Administration says applicants must be United States citizens, younger than 31 when they apply, able to speak English clearly, and willing to work shift schedules. Its checklist says no college degree is required and points applicants to the posting on USAJobs. (faa.gov; faa.gov) Air traffic controllers separate aircraft on the ground and in the air, and the hiring push comes as the agency tries to rebuild staffing after years of shortfalls. The Federal Aviation Administration’s 2025 to 2028 workforce plan says the controller workforce reached 14,264 in fiscal 2024. (faa.gov) That same workforce plan says the agency hired 1,811 new controllers in fiscal 2024 and more than 5,700 over the last five years. In an August 2025 update, the Federal Aviation Administration said it expected to hire at least 8,900 new controllers through 2028, including 2,000 in 2025. (faa.gov; faa.gov) The Transportation Department has also been changing the pipeline, not just the recruiting message. In a February 2025 announcement, the Federal Aviation Administration said the hiring window would run from February 27 through March 17 and described a more streamlined process for applying and starting training. (faa.gov) The agency later said more than 8,320 candidates from that 2025 round had already been qualified and referred to the Air Traffic Skills Assessment, the aptitude exam used in the process. It said more than 190 had already passed and moved deeper into hiring. (faa.gov) The current campaign leans hard on speed and pay. The Federal Aviation Administration’s checklist says controllers can reach six-figure income within three years, while the department’s 2026 operating plan sets a goal to enroll more than 2,200 trainees and remove training bottlenecks. (faa.gov; faa.gov) For applicants, the next step is simple and narrow: the window opens just after midnight on April 17, and the Federal Aviation Administration wants resumes ready before the posting appears. (faa.gov)