Demand and staffing moved in opposite directions
Federal Aviation Administration data analyzed by the Government Accountability Office show 30.8 million flights used the air traffic control system in fiscal 2024—about 10% more than in 2015. At the end of fiscal 2025, FAA employed 13,164 controllers, about 6% fewer than in 2015.
Those percentages do not produce a valid flights-per-controller workload ratio because the endpoints differ by one fiscal year and traffic is uneven across facilities. They do establish the central accountability problem: a growing system has not restored the earlier controller workforce.
The pipeline can take two to six years
Applicants must clear aptitude or prior-experience screening, medical and security requirements, academy work and facility training. GAO says the path can take two to six years, with medical clearance alone taking as long as two years for some applicants.
FAA increased hiring every year after 2021 and added resources to medical clearances. Yet GAO found the agency lacked measurable end-to-end performance goals and did not consistently use its data to determine which changes would retain more qualified applicants.
All three recommendations remain open
GAO’s public tracker lists three open recommendations: an applicant-status system, measurable recruiting/hiring/training goals, and integrated analysis of data across FAA databases. Transportation concurred in a May 28, 2026 response.
FAA said an interim candidate dashboard would launch by June 30 and additional goals and metrics would be identified by September 30. GAO’s tracker still marked the recommendations open when reviewed September 21, meaning announced steps had not yet been verified as fully implementing them.
| Control | Agency action reported | GAO status |
|---|---|---|
| Applicant-status access | Interim dashboard planned | Open |
| Measurable process goals | Flight Plan goals and process study | Open |
| Cross-database assessment | Integrated dashboard documentation under review | Open |
Method and limits
This report compares the workforce, traffic, process-duration and recommendation-status fields in GAO’s report. It does not attribute an accident, cancellation or delay to staffing without event-specific evidence.
Controller totals also do not show certification level or staffing at a particular tower or center. Facility-level scheduling and traffic data would be needed to assess local operational risk.