USDOT warns ATC academy could run out of money to pay its students in a week or two
Previously, the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the NAS is 2,000 to 3,000 controllers short.
Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, and Nick Daniels, the President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), held a joint press conference at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), with Duffy warning that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Academy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is going to run out of money soon to pay its student controllers.
In a press conference on October 24, 2025, Duffy and Daniels discussed matters regarding the government shutdown and the status of the National Airspace System (NAS). During the event, Duffy issued a warning that the Department of Transportation (DOT) is running out of money to pay trainee controllers at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, saying that the government agency is “a week to two weeks away from running out of money to pay those students.”
“Which would be cataclysmic for them, our instructors are already not paid, and they are still showing up to teach.”
Duffy reiterated that the FAA has already seen some of its students “drop out of the academy because they are concerned about going into” a job where they might not get paid.
“It is my job to let everyone know these are the consequences of the shutdown.”
The Transportation Secretary, who, once again, falsely claimed that the government is shut down due to the Democrats’ desire to fund healthcare for illegals, when the Democrats have requested an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, stated that the shutdown will not be “consequence-free in regard to the pipeline that I have in bringing controllers in.”
Duffy previously estimated that the NAS is short of about 2,000 to 3,000 controllers. Shortly after he came into office, in February, the Secretary introduced a plan "to supercharge the hiring of air traffic controllers," which included larger starting salaries and streamlining the hiring process. In September, the DOT announced that the FAA reached its fiscal year hiring goal by welcoming 2,026, or 26 more than its goal, controllers.
Earlier during the conference, Duffy stated that while controllers were paid on October 14, their next paycheck, on October 28, “is going to be a big fat zero.”
Rytis Beresnevicius
Daniels, who spoke only briefly, said that controllers are already picking up second jobs, noting that controllers, who have low incomes due to their lack of experience, or live paycheck to paycheck, will shift their focus from the safety of the flying public to “focusing on what they cannot afford to pay.”
“Our message is simple: end the shutdown today.”
Duffy explained that during the shutdown, there have been varying numbers of delayed flights due to staffing shortages. “We have gone up as high as 53% of the delays” being caused by a lack of controllers, he said, adding that the “number moves every single day.”
The Secretary repeated the message that he and Daniels have been communicating with controllers: “I want you to show up” to work. To note, controllers who show up to work during the shutdown will receive back pay.
While the Trump administration, which has managed to find funds to pay other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which runs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has explored ways to pay controllers during the shutdown, there has been little progress.
On October 22, Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, introduced the ‘Keep America Flying Act of 2026,’ act, which would ensure that essential FAA and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees are paid and the agencies continue operating “in the event of a Federal Government shutdown.”
The bill has a retroactive date of September 30, 2025, which is a day before the shutdown began.
Rytis Beresnevicius
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