A Way Forward: How New Bipartisan Legislation Offers Hope for America's Beleaguered Air Traffic Controllers

The US airline industry is still recovering from the longest government shutdown in history. Airlines are estimated to have lost around $200 million in operating income, while over five million travellers were affected by flight reduction orders across the country. The shutdown significantly disrupted the livelihoods of different federal workers—most notably 13,000 air traffic controllers who continued to work without pay.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy admitted that it caused a spike in the number of controllers choosing to retire. Meanwhile, those at the start of their careers may be put off entirely from joining, at a time where increased staffing should be one of the FAA’s key directives. Tim Kiefer, a retired air traffic controller who is now a professor of air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told CBS News: "It's not a positive to try bring people into this industry by saying, you never know if you're going to get paid.”

In 2024, the US had roughly 11,700 certified professional controllers and certified controllers in training, leaving the nation well short of its 14,000-target staffing level. Although the FAA expects to hire at least 8,900 new controllers by 2028, while nearly 7,000 are projected to leave over the same period, the agency remains understaffed.

It takes between five and eight years to train as an air traffic controller

The government shutdown is thankfully behind us, and many Americans are busy enjoying their Thanksgiving celebrations with families. Mass travel disruptions seem to be on the back burner. This is expected to be a record Thanksgiving holiday travel period—Airlines for America estimates that between November 21st and December 1st, US airlines will carry more than 31 million passengers, an all-time high.

Yet there is a worrying elephant in the room. What if this happens again? If the FAA wish to recruit more controllers while mitigating the risk of future government shutdowns, Congress needs to act. There is now a January deadline to resolve government funding, and Congress risks another partial shutdown. Some Democrats are already suggesting they may be willing to shut down the government again without a deal on Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies

The next deadline for government funding will come on January 30th, 2026

Despite all the political wrangling, one thing should be clear: key federal workers such as air traffic controllers should not fall victim to the nation's archaic funding system. Some have floated the idea of simply removing the ATC system from politics entirely by transitioning it into a non-profit organization. Similar structures already exist in countries such as Canada, Germany and Australia.

The CEO of Airlines for America, Chris Sununu last week submitted testimony to the Senate Commerce Aviation Subcommittee calling on Congress to act. He said “this shutdown has demonstrated the serious safety, human and economic consequences of subjecting the aviation sector to this kind of stress and chaos. It must never happen again,"

Chris Sununu was formally the Governor of New Hampshire and now runs Airlines for America

Whatever does materialize at a structural level in the future, there is a silver lining for controllers in the short-term. Congressional leaders have introduced a bipartisan bill designed to ensure that US air traffic controllers and other key FAA workers continue to receive pay during any future government shutdown. The proposal is called the Aviation Funding Solvency Act, and it is backed by top Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The legislation also drew support from the Modern Skies Coalition, a broad alliance of aviation industry groups, companies and labor unions. This includes organizations such as Airlines for America, the National Business Aviation Association, Air Line Pilots Association, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and major manufactures including Boeing and Airbus.

 In a joint statement released by the Coalition on November 19^th, they said “there is no reason aviation should be subjected to shutdowns that result from Washington’s inability to come to consensus on funding bills. Enough is enough. The time for this common sense and critical legislation is now.”

Air traffic controllers have endured significant challenges. During the shutdown, pilots across the country even delivered care packages of food recognising the intense financial sacrifices they had to make. While the industry remains fragile as it moves forward, this bill would offer a critical step in the right direction. By removing a key vulnerability in the nation's aviation infrastructure, it would provide much-needed job security for the professionals who keep America's skies safe.