Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Sunday hailed the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) move to open up Air Traffic Controller applications to video game players.
Record-Breaking Campaign
In a post on the social media platform X, Duffy shared a clip from an interview with Fox News, hailing the campaign to hire gamers to become air traffic controllers. The transportation secretary said that out of the 250 sample size of the trainee air traffic controllers in Oklahoma City, only three weren’t gamers.
“We thought there was a connection here. They [gamers] problem solve, they’re spatially aware, they do multiple things at the same time,” he said, drawing parallels between gamers and air traffic controllers. The DOT reached out to the gaming community, Duffy said.
“12 THOUSAND applications in 24 hours – the most in one day since the FAA was created 68 YEARS ago!” he wrote in the caption of the post. Out of the 12,000 applications, 11,000 were already qualified and 8,000 applicants were being asked to get their skills tested, Duffy said in the interview.
Trump Seeks 2,300 Controllers To Be Hired
The news comes as the President Donald Trump administration was reportedly seeking to hire an additional 2,300 trainee air traffic controllers. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was also reportedly 3,500 employees short of its target.
Air traffic controller shortages have plagued the aviation industry for a while, with last year’s government shutdown causing widespread chaos in the sector as controllers worked without pay for the entirety of the shutdown. The administration offered a $10,000 bonus to controllers who did not miss a single day of work during the shutdown.
Spirit Airlines To Cease Operations?
Meanwhile, Spirit Aviation Holdings Inc. (OTC:FLYYQ) could reportedly halt its operations as doubts remain about the airline’s ability to clear its past dues. The airline had earlier filed for bankruptcy amid post Covid-19 pandemic struggles, as well as a failed merger with JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ:JBLU).
However, Duffy had earlier signaled Trump‘s approval for possible mergers between U.S. airlines as jet fuel costs surge amid the war with Iran.
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