(DCNF)—The Trump administration is calling on young adult gamers to join the federal workforce and become air traffic controllers as the country seeks to improve its air travel.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) unveiled a new campaign on Friday morning through social media, targeting those who play video games as part of a push to fill thousands of open spots for air traffic control. It comes as the agency opens its annual air traffic control hiring window at midnight on April 17.
“To reach the next generation of air traffic controllers, we need to adapt. This campaign’s innovative communication style and focus on gaming taps into a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.
A one-minute video released Friday on YouTube directly called on young adults who played video games to consider applying in the program. The video shows clips of eSports gamers and clips of trainees working in air traffic controller towers.
Air traffic controllers do not require a college degree, according to the DOT. The agency also said that exit interviews suggested controllers cited gaming as an influence on their skillset on the job.
“Safety is the FAA’s [Federal Aviation Administration] top priority, and that starts with hiring top talent and equipping them with world-class tools,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told the DCNF in a statement. “We need the best people, the best training, and the best tools because we expect the best results.”
The DOT’s push follows the agency’s hiring of over 2,000 new air traffic controllers in the 2025 fiscal year, intending to recruit over 8,900 by the end of 2028. Around 1,200 new controllers have been hired as of April 2026, around one-half of its goal for the year.
Approximately 11,000 controllers are in service, with at least 4,000 trainees waiting to complete their coursework, according to the DOT. The agency also said that it had hired 20% more controllers between January and September 2025 compared to 2024, while cutting the hiring process by five months.
“Thanks to President [Donald] Trump — we’ve already made incredible progress with the highest controller staffing levels in six years. There’s never been a more exciting time to become a controller and level up into a career with a strong purpose—keeping American families safe,” Duffy continued.
The agency faced a significant crisis in 2025 after a government shutdown forced controllers to work without pay, leading to a temporary 10% cut in flights at several major airports. At the same time, ongoing hostilities in Iran and the Middle East caused oil prices to soar, leading to higher baggage check fees and overall increases in flight prices.
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