Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he plans to extend the retirement age for all air traffic controllers, increasing the mandatory age from 56 to 61 years old.
During an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," host Kristen Welker asked Duffy whether he had asked Congress to extend the retirement age. Duffy replied that Congress had already given him the authority to do so.
When asked if he would extend the retirement age, Duffy replied," One hundred percent."
The change comes as Duffy and his team navigate air-traffic controller shortages. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employs about 14,000 air traffic controllers, with 1,800 being hired last year, there is still a shortage of about 3,000 controllers, according to the Associated Press.
The job, which is known to be stressful and unpredictable, has a high turnover rate, so despite thousands of hirings, shortages continue to prevail, according to the AP.
Duffy said that air-traffic controllers can retire after 25 years of service, which means many of them retire at 50 years old, leading Duffy to propose a bonus as a solution.
"What I've done, I said, 'Hey, listen. These are the best controllers we have in the airspace. Let's give them a bonus. I'm going to give them a 20 percent upfront bonus to stay on the job. Don't retire. Keep serving your country.' And these are the best guys," he said.
“These are not overnight fixes,” Duffy noted. “But as we go up — one, two years, older guys on the job, younger guys coming in, men and women — we can make up that 3,000-person difference.”
The process to become a controller is not easy. Most candidates go through training at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma, though one-third of recruits don't make it to the end, according to the AP. Other recruits learn through military training or college. The final step, which takes about two to three years, involves work as developmental controllers in airport towers or radar centers, the AP noted.
The changes come as the Trump administration continues its plans to "supercharge" the air-traffic controller workforce. In one of the latest moves to increase the workforce, Duffy launched a new cash incentive program aimed at recruiting and retaining air-traffic controllers earlier this month.
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