Controller Workforce Plans Archive
FAA National Staffing Reports & Hiring Projections (2016–Present)
The FAA Controller Workforce Plan (CWP) is an annual report submitted to Congress detailing the agency's hiring targets, retirement forecasts, and facility-by-facility controller staffing goals.
Because the FAA typically removes older plans from their public site as new reports are published, tracking long-term trends can be difficult. This page serves as a centralized archive of all workforce plans from 2016 to the present, ensuring researchers, controllers, and applicants have access to historical data.
Why tracking historical CWPs matters:
- Analyze how individual facility staffing targets change over time.
- Track historical training success rates and graduation timelines.
- Observe how the FAA's national hiring projections shift in response to staffing shortages.
FAA Controller Staffing & Target Gap (2016–2026)
Comparison of targeted CPC counts against the actual active certified workforce and CPC-Equivalent levels.
Hiring Targets, Admissions & Attrition
Annual goals vs. actual Academy admissions and controller retirements/losses.
Average Time-to-Certification
Historical training timeline trends (in months) by facility complexity levels.
Available Workforce Plans (11)
FY 2026 – 2028 Plan
Introduces the Terminal Radar/Tower Rebasing (TRB) targets, revising individual facility staffing metrics across the nation.
FY 2025 – 2028 Plan
Highlights modern recruitment paths, target overrides, and training throughput updates following system-wide recovery.
FY 2024 – 2033 Plan
Outlines long-term hiring projections and response actions to rebuild staffing levels post-pandemic.
FY 2023 – 2032 Plan
Contains comprehensive statistical appendices on hiring bids, training facility metrics, and retirement waves.
FY 2022 – 2031 Plan
Addresses the post-pandemic resumption of Academy classes in Oklahoma City and revised controller attrition projections.
FY 2021 – 2030 Plan
Reflects changes during COVID-19 facility protocols, Academy closures, and temporary training pipeline delays.
FY 2020 – 2029 Plan
Details the hiring targets and academy intake models planned immediately before the pandemic disruptions.
FY 2019 – 2028 Plan
Covers the implementation of the Collaborative Resource Work Group (CRWG) metrics and new scheduling parameters.
FY 2018 – 2027 Plan
Provides insights on placement lists, transfer queues, and national success rates for developmental controllers.
FY 2017 – 2026 Plan
Marks the initial empirical recording of training times and success rates by facility class and size.
FY 2016 – 2025 Plan
An expansive plan focusing on the FAA's multi-year hiring surge to address controller retirement eligibility.