Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is trying to solve one of aviation's most persistent headaches: not enough air traffic controllers. His solution? Get colleges involved early.

Expanding the Pipeline

Duffy announced Thursday on X that the Department of Transportation and FAA have brought Sacramento City College into the agency's Collegiate Training Initiative program. It's the 10th school to join and the first in California, which seems like a notable gap given how much air traffic flows through the state.

The program trains college students who want to become air traffic controllers, giving them a pathway into one of aviation's most demanding jobs. Duffy framed it as creating "more opportunities for young patriots to get certified and keep passengers safe."

In the FAA's official statement, Duffy leaned into the current administration's branding: "We are moving at the Speed of Trump to address the decades-long air traffic controller shortage." The agency also noted it hired 2,026 new controllers, beating its 2025 hiring goals.

Shutdown Aftermath

The urgency makes sense when you remember what happened during last year's historic 43-day government shutdown. Controllers worked without paychecks, travel turned chaotic, and the FAA ended up cutting flights at major airports because staffing simply couldn't handle the load.

When the shutdown finally ended, the administration offered backpay and sweetened the deal with $10,000 bonuses for controllers who showed up every single day without pay. That's a pretty clear signal of how critical these roles are.

Airlines felt the pain too. Delta Airlines (DAL) reported the shutdown cost them $200 million—more than 25 cents per share. When controllers can't work at full capacity, the entire aviation system feels it.