The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been plagued by a shortage of air traffic controllers for years. According to a report released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in January this year, the number of active air traffic controllers in the United States has dropped by approximately 6% over the past decade. Against this background, the Trump administration is launching a new recruitment campaign focusing on "gamers" to coincide with the annual air traffic controller recruitment window that will open on April 17.
However, even if recruitment efforts are stepped up, there are still many challenges in getting qualified candidates to successfully pass the training and eventually take up the job. The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation pointed out that the FAA has encountered "serious challenges" in the training process, including insufficient qualified instructors, limited training capacity, outdated curriculum, and a high training obsolescence rate.
In a newly released promotional video, the FAA made extensive use of "Madden NFL", "Fortnite", "League of Legends" e-sports scenes and Xbox One advertising clips, and used the slogan "You have been training for this job." The video claims that air traffic controllers can earn an average annual salary of $155,000 after three years on the job.
The FAA said in a news release that some air traffic controllers mentioned in exit interviews that video games affected their "ability to react quickly, concentrate, and handle complex situations." The FAA also encourages applicants to "level up" their careers through this opportunity on its recruitment page. However, the Trump administration is not the first group to set its sights on gamers. The New York Times reported that the administration of former U.S. President Biden launched a recruitment campaign called "Level Up" as early as 2021 to encourage gamers, women, and ethnic minorities to join the air traffic control team.
Increasing the number of air traffic controllers has been one of the policy priorities of current U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. Shortly after taking office last year, he announced a plan to "supercharge" the air traffic controller recruitment process. The recruitment activity ended in March 2025, with more than 10,000 applications received, and approximately 600 students eventually entered the air traffic control training academy. The figures were given by the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General. At the same time, GAO pointed out that some attrition in the air traffic controller recruitment process is actually "avoidable," such as the process itself being "difficult to navigate" and some applicants accepting other job opportunities before receiving an offer.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), which represents air traffic controllers, said in a statement that the union "welcomes any innovative approach that will help expand the source of candidates," including promoting groups with high-level aptitudes, "such as gamers."