Over the past five years, the FAA has hired over 7,800 new air traffic controllers. We exceeded our hiring target in 2018, hiring 1,787 new controllers compared with a plan of 1,701. The anticipated number of new controller hires in FY 2019 is 907. This represents a substantial reduction to the FY 2019 target of 1,431 stated in the FY 2018 Controller Workforce Plan. This is also the lowest number of new controller hires since 2013. The reduction is primarily due to:
• The FAA hiring of 86 more controllers than forecasted last year while losing 113 fewer controllers to attrition. This resulted in a total onboard controller headcount of nearly 200 higher than forecasted at the end of FY 2018. 2019-2028 . 5 The FAA’s goal is to ensure that the agency has the flexibility to match the number of controllers at each facility with traffic volume and workload. Staffing to traffic is just one of the ways we manage America’s National Airspace System.
• A lapse in funding in the first quarter of FY 2019 resulted in a partial government shutdown and disruption to the hiring process. This limited our administrative hiring and screening activities, and it caused current FAA Air Traffic Academy students to retake portions of their training while delaying start dates for others.
• For FY 2019 hiring, there were fewer well-qualified applicants in Pool 1 (Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) graduates and veterans) thus limiting the number of well-qualified Pool 2 (general public) applicants that could be selected for a position