Illinois Senators Accuse FAA of Holding Air Traffic Controller Pay Raises Hostage

Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin have strongly condemned Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford for delaying a congressionally approved pay increase for air traffic controllers. In a letter obtained exclusively by CBS News, the lawmakers accused the FAA of leveraging the remaining portion of the raise as a bargaining chip to enforce stricter workload metrics.

The Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, signed into law by President Trump in April, allocated $140 million to fund a 3.8% salary increase for controllers. However, officials report that employees have only received the standard 1% raise distributed to all federal workers, with the remainder withheld.

“Holding air traffic controllers’ remaining 2.8 percent pay increase hostage to force a workforce that has operated under mandatory overtime for years to work longer hours is petty, disrespectful and counterproductive,” the senators wrote. They argued that squeezing additional productivity from an understaffed and overworked crew would harm retention and compromise aviation safety.

The dispute centers on the FAA’s 2026 Controller Workforce Plan, which aims to boost the average hours of productive time per eight-hour shift from four to five. Senator Duckworth, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Aviation subcommittee, and Senator Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat who is retiring in January, cited an interview Bedford gave to the Washington Examiner in which he linked the pay hike to these scheduling reforms.

“Squeezing more ‘utilization’ out of air traffic controllers who have been understaffed, underpaid and overworked for years will weaken retention and undermine aviation safety,” the letter stated. “Air traffic controllers are operating a strained system, using antiquated technology, while adapting to air traffic control modernization in real time.”

The senators contended that the statutory conditions attached to the pay raise—requiring improvements in workforce scheduling, staffing utilization, or operational efficiencies—are not overly burdensome. They suggested that the FAA’s failure to reach an agreement indicates the proposed changes would not benefit the controllers.

In a statement, the FAA defended its position, asserting that Congress made the pay increase contingent upon the administrator determining that such improvements have been achieved. “The FAA looks forward to talking with NATCA to review historic scheduling practices and identify opportunities to achieve more productive schedules that will improve safety and controller quality of life,” the agency said.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) expressed support for the senators, stating, “We continue to advocate for meaningful improvements for controllers, including the pay parity wage increase passed by Congress, through ongoing engagement with the FAA.”

Staffing shortages remain a critical issue within the agency. A 2025 CBS News investigation found that more than 90% of air traffic control towers were understaffed. In response, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently announced that the FAA had hired a record number of controllers this year, partly by targeting video gamers as potential candidates. Duffy reported that the agency received over 12,000 applicants in less than 24 hours, with approximately 8,000 deemed qualified.

Despite the hiring surge, the senators urged the FAA to “expeditiously approve the pay increase” and release the withheld funds to the nation’s air traffic controllers.