Transportation Secretary says air traffic control recruiting pitch for gamers ‘wildly successful’

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Federal Aviation Administration's recruiting drive targeting gamers for air traffic control roles is "wildly successful." 

“This has been wildly successful, and if you think just what these gamers are doing on screens, they’re talking and there’s a lot of things going on,” Duffy said at the Semafor World Economy Summit. 

“They’re used to that, and that’s actually what you’re doing in a tower in a facility, and so they’ve become well suited from the games they play to actually have a great life, job that pays well, and they can support their families,” he continued. 

Duffy said the FAA has received 6,000 applicants as of Friday morning after he announced the recruiting drive on April 10. The FAA pitched potential applicants on a job that is “not just a game” but a “career" and promises high paychecks. 

For decades, the FAA has struggled to adequately staff air traffic control jobs. Last November, Duffy had warned that the number of air traffic controllers retiring daily had tripled during the government shutdown. 

In his most recent budget proposal, President Donald Trump requested $481 million to hire more air traffic controllers amid the shortage.