FAA Expands Controller Training to Northeast

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has signed an agreement with Vaughn College in New York to become the next school for the Enhanced Air Traffic – Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program.  

This is the fifth school the FAA has authorized to provide the same thorough curriculum and advanced training technology offered at the agency’s Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City, and the first in the Northeast. 

Enhanced AT-CTI school students must pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA), meet the FAA’s medical and security requirements, and pass performance verifications to graduate. After meeting these requirements and receiving an endorsement certificate, graduates then report directly to an FAA facility to begin their training.  

This is different than the Standard AT-CTI program, where graduates go to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City but can bypass the introductory Air Traffic Basics Course.   

The FAA has already qualified and referred more than 8,320 candidates to the ATSA, from its March 2025 hiring campaign. The FAA also has a year-round  hiring opportunity for experienced controllers from the military and private industry and is enhancing training with modernized simulators to help get new hires through training more efficiently. 

The FAA will continue to take aggressive action to increase its controller workforce.