Transportation Secretary Unveils Plan to Boost Hiring of Air Traffic Controllers

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Feb. 27 unveiled a plan to speed up the hiring of new air traffic controllers to address a staffing shortage after a series of airline incidents. Prospective hires now only need to go through five steps in the hiring process instead of eight, Duffy said. That will cut more than four months off the previous process, according to the Department of Transportation. The federal government is also raising starting salaries by 30 percent for candidates who attend the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Academy at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The window to hire new air traffic controllers opened on Thursday and will stay open until March 17, officials said....