Decentralizing the Pipeline: How Colleges Are Easing the Air Traffic Controller Crunch

America’s air traffic control system is running on borrowed time. The government is short roughly 3,000 air traffic controllers, meaning travelers across the nation are at higher risk of experiencing travel disruptions.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) under Secretary Sean Duffy has leaned hard into hiring and training reforms. New opportunities for veteran military controllers, raising starting pay, and streamlining the hiring process are just a few examples. 

But one sore spot has been the education pipeline that’s responsible for getting prospective controllers into the towers. Traditionally, the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City has been the premier gateway for new hires. They’re taught the basics before heading to an assigned tower, TRACON, or en-route center for intensive, on-the-job training. 

The only problem is capacity. The school projected it will teach 1,950 students in Fiscal Year 2025—hardly enough to keep pace with the growing shortage of controllers. 

That’s where Secretary Duffy’s expansion of the Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (Enhanced AT-CTI) lends a hand. In short, the pathway lets qualified universities and community colleges deliver the same Initial Qualification curriculum and lab work taught in Oklahoma City. 

This decentralized pipeline reduces the stress on the FAA Academy and gets talent onto the floor faster. And under the current DOT, it’s been injected with real momentum. 

Here are the schools that have signed on to help relieve the controller shortage burden under Secretary Duffy:

1. University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) — announced January 20, 2025. 

2. Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology (Queens, NY) — announced April 9, 2025.

3. SUNY Schenectady County Community College (Schenectady, NY) — announced May 30, 2025.

4. Middle Georgia State University (Macon, GA) — announced July 2, 2025.

5. Nashua Community College (Nashua, NH) — announced August 11, 2025.

6. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott (Prescott, AZ) — announced September 15, 2025.

The ongoing efforts by Secretary Duffy are critical to repairing our nation’s air traffic controller workforce—the backbone of the aviation sector. With six schools added in 2025 alone—and more in review—the program is set to help stabilize staffing so that Americans can fly with fewer travel headaches.