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AMERICANALMANAC (Jack Newsome) - FAA's gamer recruiting campaign fills 94% of air traffic controller hiring goal Wed Aug 12 17:50:14 2026

The Trump administration's unconventional push to recruit video gamers as air traffic controllers has hired more than 2,000 applicants in roughly four months, a pace officials call record-setting for an agency that has struggled with chronic staffing shortages for years. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the results in a post on X, reporting that the […] The post FAA's gamer recruiting campaign fills 94% of air traffic controller hiring goal appeared first on American Almanac .

The Trump administration's unconventional push to recruit video gamers as air traffic controllers has hired more than 2,000 applicants in roughly four months, a pace officials call record-setting for an agency that has struggled with chronic staffing shortages for years. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the results in a post on X, reporting that the FAA's targeted campaign had reached 94% of its hiring goal. The initiative, launched in April, used YouTube ads built around footage from Fortnite, Madden NFL, and League of Legends, complete with Xbox branding and slogans like "You've been training for this" and "It's not a game. It's a career." Applications were originally capped at 8,000. More than 12,000 poured in. The…Open

NEWSNATIONNOW (Taylor Delandro) - FAA hires 2,000+ gamers as air traffic controllers since April, Duffy announces Tue Aug 11 17:57:08 2026

The streamlining is to "to get the BEST & BRIGHTEST in faster," Duffy said.

REDSTATE (Bob Hoge) - Mammas, Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Gamers — It Might Just Land Them a Six-Figure FAA Job Mon Aug 10 17:34:15 2026

JUSTTHENEWS (Misty Severi) - FAA reveals new workforce plan to address nationwide air traffic controller shortage Fri May 15 00:00:00 2026

Bedford's plan calls for a full staffing target of 12,563 certified professional controllers based on current forecast demand. The agency said it has roughly 11,000 controllers deployed across more than 300 facilities as of April 2026.

NEWSNATIONNOW - Air traffic controllers struggle to balance mental health and workload Fri Apr 24 14:08:22 2026

"Nobody knows about it, except for the controller that's suffering in silence," Stewart said.

JUSTTHENEWS (Kevin Killough) - FAA launches campaign to attract air traffic controllers that targets gamers Fri Apr 10 00:00:00 2026

The campaign is hoping to target young adults who demonstrate high cognitive functions, multitasking ability, spatial awareness and problem-solving skills.

NEWSNATIONNOW (Sean Noone) - LaGuardia ATC may have violated procedures on night of fatal collision: Report Tue Mar 31 19:42:16 2026

NTSB said it was seeking information on the duties being performed by each air traffic controller.

NEWSNATIONNOW (Ashleigh Fields) - Airline CEOs ask Congress for TSA agents to be paid during shutdown Mon Mar 16 00:27:20 2026

The letter outlined an urgent need for TSA officers, U.S. Customs clearance officers at airports and air traffic controllers to be paid.