November 25, 2025
The 44-day government shutdown has further strained the already struggling labor market for air traffic controllers.
As the dust continues to settle from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the airline industry is highlighting the toll it took on an already weakened air traffic controller workforce. Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, told CNN that many controllers quit after going 44 days without pay, a challenge compounded by already difficult working conditions.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy added that the shutdown also led many to retire early. Daniels declined to estimate how many controllers were lost, but noted that replacing them could take years. The shutdown highlighted the chaos that occurs without enough controllers, as travelers nationwide faced widespread flight cancellations and delays.
“Just even losing one is too many, but I can’t even fathom how many were lost during the time,” Daniels said.
The FAA currently employs around 11,000 certified controllers but estimates it needs 3,000 more. Accounting for expected departures, that means over 6,000 new hires are needed.
But replacing controllers isn’t quick. Training takes two to three years. Even before the shutdown, the weakened labor market was nearly outpacing hiring.
Rising retirements and resignations during the shutdown will make closing that gap even harder. “Long after you all finish covering the shutdown, we are going to be stuck dealing with this problem,” Duffy said.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump appeared unconcerned about the potential loss of additional air traffic controllers, particularly those who had missed work during the shutdown, saying on Truth Social that those who quit would be replaced by “true Patriots” who “will do a better job.”
A union representing air traffic controllers recently reported that only 7% of those who worked without pay during the shutdown received Trump’s $10,000 “perfect attendance” bonus. Many controllers who took approved vacation, sick, or bereavement leave and were therefore ineligible said the bonus highlighted how little their work is valued.
“It spits in the faces of the thousands of controllers who showed up every day without a paycheck, who staffed an already-broken system, who worked overtime, who attended funerals, who took care of sick children, who took well-deserved vacations booked a year in advance,” one Reddit user wrote. “To now be told that only a small slice of us are ‘worthy’ of recognition is a betrayal of the reality we all are living through.”
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