What Happened
Lawmakers Press Administrator Over Remaining 2.8% Increase
Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin are pressing the FAA to approve the remaining 2.8% of a congressionally authorized pay increase for air traffic controllers. The raise was contingent on the FAA administrator determining that improvements have been achieved in workforce scheduling and operational efficiencies. The senators argue that the requirements for approval are ’not a high bar’ and that the FAA should expeditiously approve the pay increase. The dispute follows the release of the FAA’s 2026-2028 Controller Workforce Plan, which identifies controller scheduling as an opportunity for improving operational performance. This development was reported by an unknown source.