Fortnite And Flight Sim Skills Help Fill Critical Air Traffic Roles In Record Time
The Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are finding success with an outside-the-box solution to what has been a persistent air traffic controller shortage. After leaning into a recruitment campaign targeting video gamers in April of this year, the agencies report they've met 94% of the hiring goal, saying it's the fastest time ever to reach that metric.
When the gamer recruitment drive began four months ago, the FAA emphasized that no college degree was required. It also highlighted an attractive salary, saying that the average earnings after three years on the job hovers around $155,000 per year. According to the FAA, only 25% of controllers hold a traditional college degree.
A recruitment video leaned hard into gaming, starting with an Xbox logo at the intro. From there, the short 1min10sec video transitioned into a montage of scenes alternating between gaming and air traffic controller clips, as seen above.
"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," U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said at the time.
The thinking behind that campaign is that gamers possess certain skills that translate to the demands of air traffic control, such as high cognitive functions, the ability to effectively multitask, spatial awareness, and strategy and problem solving.
"Feedback from controller exit interviews reinforces this, with several controllers pointing to gaming as an influence on their ability to think quickly, stay focused, and manage complexity. Approximately 65 percent, more than 200 million, of Americans regularly play video games," the FAA stated in a press release.
🚨 GAME CHANGER
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) August 9, 2026
In April, we launched a NEW CAMPAIGN to recruit video gamers as air traffic controllers — and supercharged the entire hiring process to get the BEST & BRIGHTEST in faster. The results are HISTORIC ✈️
✅ 94% of hiring goal met — fastest time ever to reach target… pic.twitter.com/gN3OGmEIBB
Targeting gamers has been a hit. In a post on X, Duffy says the FAA has hired over 2,000 individuals, the most ever in a single year. He also says that those same recruits reached the Academy quicker than any class before them, which he attributed to a "streamlined hiring process." Beyond boosting headcounts, the agency has also been working hard to modernize its systems to help manage crowded skies alongside the incoming waves of fresh gamer talent.
For kids and young adults paying attention, you now have ammo to pitch for more game time the next time the parental overlords say you've played enough Fortnite or Microsoft Flight Simulator for the day.
