500 Air Traffic Controller Trainees Abandon FAA Program During Historic Government Shutdown

By Sam Barron | Wednesday, 17 December 2025 07:37 PM EST

Federal Aviation Administration chief Bryan Bedford told senators Wednesday that around 500 air traffic controller trainees left during the 43-day government shutdown.

“We lost, I don’t know, 400 to 500 of our trainees that just sort of gave up during the lapse,” Bedford said to a Senate aviation subcommittee during a hearing.

Bedford said the FAA was able to find some money to keep the training academy in Oklahoma City open during the shutdown, but many potential air traffic controllers still chose to leave.

“Even though we kept the school open, I think the thought of not being paid was enough to frighten them away,” Bedford said.

Controllers in towers and other facilities also went unpaid during the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in history.

Bedford said there is a high washout rate among trainees, but said the FAA has increased the number of certified controllers and there are 1,000 more trainees “in the pipeline than we had a year ago.”

“But as you point out, it’s a two- to three-year full training cycle,” Bedford said at the hearing.

Bedford said the FAA is on pace to complete its shift from copper to fiber communications for air traffic control by the third quarter of 2027.

“We’re 35% of the way through,” he said.