The new secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, appeared to walk back an enticement to retire, saying F.A.A. safety workers were exempt from the offer for federal workers.

More than 90% of the country's airport traffic control towers, including Pittsburgh International Airport, are understaffed according to analysis of FAA data. The Federal Aviation Administration data shows that at the time of the report,

Several deadly plane crashes this year have put the spotlight on the U.S.’s air traffic controller shortage. Experts point to COVID-era woes and expensive, time-consuming job training. But a six-figure salary is on the table for those who make the cut.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Wednesday he is reconsidering rules that allowed air traffic control supervisors to reduce staffing at Washington's Reagan National Airport before a fatal Army helicopter-plane collision that killed 67 people last week.

The basic problem, which reformers have been trying to remedy since the Clinton administration, is that the system is operated by a cumbersome federal bureaucracy—the same bureaucracy that’s also responsible for overseeing air safety. The FAA is supposed to be a watchdog, but we’ve put it in charge of watching itself.

Air controller Tyler Casper controls the taxi ways from the 150-foot control tower in 2008. Last week’s mid-air collision highlighted the air traffic controller shortage but FAA documents show Sacramento’s staffing is above its “staffing standards target.”

Air traffic controllers are exempt from a buyout offer President Trump’s administration introduced last week to nearly 2 million federal workers, including controllers. The clarification follows two deadly plane crashes,

The air traffic controllers union had asked for clarification on whether members were eligible for the federal buyout and only received confirmation from a report on CNN.