The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Wednesday it will be allowing two Oklahoma schools to move forward with programs that would allow new air traffic controllers to skip the agency’s training academy.
Tulsa Community College and the University of Oklahoma will be the first to administer the “Enhanced Air Traffic – Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI).”
The FAA said the college program will offer the same curriculum and technology as the FAA Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City and will create a greater pipeline of air traffic controllers as the industry struggles with personnel shortages and burnout.
“The FAA is working to hire and train more air traffic controllers, in order to reverse the decades-long decline in our workforce and ensure the safety of the flying public. The Enhanced AT-CTI program is an important part of that effort,” agency Administrator Michael Whitaker said.
“We’re excited to have these schools become pioneers in this initiative and look forward to seeing more applications from schools as we build out these partnerships.”
Those who participate in the program will skip the FAA’s academy and go straight to facility training after graduation.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had also said earlier this year that the agency needs more air traffic controllers.
“If you look at just a chart over the last 30 years or so, the number of air traffic controllers has gone down and down and down, until recently where we finally got that number going up,” Buttigieg said.
“We hired 1,500, then 1,800 in this year. We’re requesting a budget from Congress and let us hire 2,000 next year so that you don’t have as much of this concern about controllers being overworked,” he added.
In April, the FAA announced new regulations intended to combat air traffic controller fatigue.