Air traffic controllers across the United States are expressing frustration and anger over a recently announced $10,000 retention bonus, calling the payment inadequate given the mounting pressures facing the profession and the critical staffing shortages plaguing the Federal Aviation Administration.
Controllers and union representatives have described the $10,000 figure as tone-deaf, particularly when compared to the high-stakes nature of their work and the severe consequences of staffing shortages. Air traffic controllers are responsible for safely managing thousands of flights daily, separating aircraft in crowded airspace, and making split-second decisions that directly impact passenger safety.
“It feels like a slap in the face,” said one controller who spoke on condition of anonymity. “We’re working six-day weeks, mandatory overtime, dealing with outdated equipment at some facilities, and they think $10,000 fixes that? Meanwhile, the stress is driving people out of the profession faster than we can train new ones.”
My last place basically did it too. They adjusted salaries for post covid corporate profiteering inflation, but only a little. Not enough to even begin to catch up with how much less we were making.
Strangely, many of the younger people there left. They could do the math and the org insulted us with their raise after years of salary stagnation.