What Happened
Audit Launched to Investigate Training Pipeline Shortfalls
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is facing challenges in hiring new air traffic controllers, with a shortage of qualified instructors, limited training capacity, and a curriculum that has struggled to keep up with technology changes. The Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General has launched an audit to investigate the training pipeline and identify obstacles to meeting the FAA’s hiring targets. The audit comes as the FAA tries to reverse a long-running shortage of certified controllers, with the goal of hiring at least 8,900 new controllers by 2028. According to AeroTime, the inspector general’s review will assess the FAA’s approach to recruiting and training controllers, and provide recommendations to help the agency meet its hiring targets.