Trump officials want to recruit gamers without college degrees to be air traffic controllers

Tech Insider : Travel, Business
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks at a press conference behind a podium with an air traffic control tower pictured behind him.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is trying to speed up hiring and training for new air traffic controllers, as the industry faces a chronic shortage.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

NTSB head says she had to 'beg' to get an Air Canada crash investigator through an hourslong TSA line in Houston

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
MARCH 23: An Air Canada Express plane sits on the tarmac after it collided with a fire truck on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport on March 23, 2026 in New York City. Two people are believed to have been killed in the late-night accident, with dozens injured. The plane had landed from a flight from Montreal

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Inside the National Air and Space Museum's 164-foot observation tower overlooking Washington, DC's largest airport

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The Donald D. Engen Observation Tower at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
The Donald D. Engen Observation Tower at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

christianthiel.net/Shutterstock

The US is speeding up a multibillion-dollar upgrade to its fragile air traffic control system after a year of outages and travel chaos

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
A man walks past The FAA Air Traffic Control tower is seen at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey on May 7, 2025
The air traffic control tower is seen at Newark Liberty International Airport.

KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images

Air traffic controllers didn't get paid during the government shutdown. Here's how much they make normally.

Tech Insider : Travel, Business, Style
Controllers at Boston Logan airport.
Becoming an air traffic controller is a long and difficult process, and the job is equally stressful. But it comes with good pay.

Michael Dwyer/AP

Trump recommends $10,000 bonus to air traffic controllers who didn't call out sick during the shutdown

Tech Insider : Politics, Economy, Business
Donald Trump
The president sharply criticized air traffic controllers who took time off during the shutdown, saying he's "NOT HAPPY" with them.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images

A Southwest plane had to abort its landing after a near miss with a helicopter crossing its path

Tech Insider : Business, Style
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 airplane departs from San Diego International Airport en route to Sacramento on August 15, 2025 in San Diego, California
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737.

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Air traffic controllers have become reluctant bargaining chips in the government shutdown. They just want to get paid.

Tech Insider : Business, Technology
air traffic control tower
Air traffic controllers are about to miss their first paycheck of the government shutdown.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Air traffic controllers say pilots and flight attendants are sending them free food. The shutdown has them working with no pay.

Tech Insider : Travel, Business
An air-traffic control tower in Burbank, California
Air traffic controllers in towers across the US are getting free food delivered from pilots, flight attendants, and others during the government shutdown, when they're not drawing a paycheck.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

If you're flying during the government shutdown, you're 10 times more likely to be delayed by staff shortages than normal

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
An airplane takes off near the control tower at Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on October 8, 2025.
Reagan National Airport near Washington, DC, saw average delays of 31 minutes due to understaffing.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

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