WASHINGTON — The top union for air traffic controllers is hampering Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s plans to boost hiring by penalizing those who want to work beyond retirement age, The Post has learned.
Duffy is offering cash bonuses of up to 20% of annual salaries for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic controllers eligible to retire but younger than the mandatory age of 56 — and hoping to retain even more through through the age of 61 via exemption waivers.
“They’re fantastic, they’re great at their jobs, they get to an eligible point of retirement and they take that retirement,” Duffy, 53, told reporters May 1.
“Why don’t we try to incentivize those really well-experienced air traffic controllers? Let’s incentivize them to stay. Let’s get them to stay on. Not only do we have that experience, but they can also help train up those younger, newer controllers coming into their family.”
But the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) has undercut the planned staffing blitz by threatening to punish any members who use waivers, according to sources familiar with the effort.
A union amendment reviewed by The Post and apparently agreed to by two-thirds of its members earlier this month will cap controller seniority on the date they start using a waiver.
“Each waiver puts early retirement at risk by showing the Agency [FAA] and Congress that mandatory retirement is unnecessary,” stated the amendment, which is expected to take effect in October.
“Waivers do nothing to benefit NATCA,” it added. “Early retirement is a privilege that we earn by working one of the most stressful jobs in history.”
“NATCA is fully committed to working with Secretary Duffy, the Department of Transportation, and the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure the national airspace system is staffed with the best and brightest air traffic controllers,” a union rep told The Post Wednesday evening.
“We continue to support Secretary Duffy’s plan to supercharge staffing and modernize the air traffic control system. NATCA remains in alignment with Secretary Duffy’s plan and the department’s priorities.”
“The secretary is disappointed in the decision to unfairly penalize experienced controllers,” said a DOT spokesperson.
“It’s critical that we retain the best and brightest because America needs more controllers — not less. We would hope that NATCA will work with us on behalf of the American people.”
Air traffic controllers are able to apply for the waivers subject to FAA approval, so long as they maintain certain standards such as medical checks.
While NACTA isn’t supposed to be involved in the hiring process, it is able to determine the seniority of its members, which determines eligibility for various benefits.
Both the FAA and NATCA then work together to staff air traffic control facilities and schedule shifts.
Many air traffic controllers retire after serving 25 years, often before the mandatory 56-year threshold is reached.
In March, President Trump issued an executive order that allowed Duffy “maximum flexibility” to exempt the FAA from federal labor relations laws in managing any overseas “installation or activity.”
Duffy reached an agreement with NACTA earlier this month offering the bonus incentive to cut down on attrition.
New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), which supervises the most heavily trafficked airports in the country, and Philadelphia TRACON, which oversees Newark Liberty International Airport’s airspace, have both suffered “persistent low staffing levels and low training success rate[s],” according to the FAA.
“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% upfront bonus to stay on the job. Don’t retire. Keep serving your country,’” Duffy told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” May 11. “And these are the best guys.”
“First and foremost, we do not believe this is an effective solution to addressing the chronic air traffic controller (ATC) staffing crisis,” the union said in February in response to Duffy’s pledge to incentivize members staying beyond their retirement age.
“The solution to the ATC staffing crisis is a long-term commitment to hiring and training.”
That package included $5,000 bonuses for air traffic control academy graduates who finish initial qualification training, another $5,000 for new hires who do the same and a $10,000 bonus for grads who work at one of 13 “hard-to-staff” air traffic control facilities.
Nearly two-thirds of recruits at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma wash out, but those who make it — as well as others who train with the US military or at other credible colleges — would be able to take the cash incentives.
There are more than 10,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, and the FAA is currently 3,000 or so shy of its staffing goals.
FAA Air Traffic Organization deputy COO Franklin McIntosh told a congressional hearing Wednesday the agency expected to hire another 2,000 controllers by the end of 2025, meaning understaffing will remain a problem for another year or more.
Another former FAA official told The Post Wednesday that staffing is expected to “get better” in the next couple weeks at the critical New York- and Philadelphia-based TRACONs due to planned telecommunications updates announced by Duffy last week.
