In news I didn’t expect to be writing today, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has given us an update on his ongoing campaign to recruit gamers as air traffic controllers. The scheme – launched in April – encourages players to sign up to join the Federal Avian Administration (FAA), promising to “modernize the sky.” While recruitment has since closed, Duffy says that 94% of the hiring goal has been met, calling it the “fastest time ever to reach [its] target.”
“In April, we launched a new campaign to recruit video gamers as air traffic controllers – and supercharged the entire hiring process to get the best and brightest in faster. The results are historic,” he writes. The scheme resulted in over 2,000 new hirings – the “most in a single year” – with more than 2,000 “‘best and brightest’ candidates in the pipeline – reaching the Academy quicker than any class before them.”
In the attached video, which features various testimonies from new recruits (one of which plays a lot of simulation games, as expected), Duffy describes gamers as being able to “problem solve. They are spatially aware; they do multiple things at the same time.” At the end of the clip, we hear that the trainers “have never had a group perform that well.” Not bad, then.
🚨 GAME CHANGER
In April, we launched a NEW CAMPAIGN to recruit video gamers as air traffic controllers – and supercharged the entire hiring process to get the BEST & BRIGHTEST in faster. The results are HISTORIC ✈️
✅ 94% of hiring goal met – fastest time ever to reach target… pic.twitter.com/gN3OGmEIBB
– Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) August 9, 2026
The post – which has 29k likes at the time of writing – raises an interesting question. Oddly enough, when I was in high school, one of the careers I had considered was air traffic control. Perhaps there’s some sort of subliminal throughline with playing games and aviation management, but I’ll say that my time was spent on the likes of Dragon Age and League of Legends, where planes don’t really feature. Unless dragons are big, scaly planes, then I’m an expert.
More generally, however, we’ve seen campaigns like this before; DHL partnered with Dota 2 back in 2018, with the aim of attracting potential recruits with its beloved Adventures series. The gamer skillset – while often sidelined by parents and teachers – is its own, unique thing, with fast reactions and creativity being two of many skills. I’ve had my head popped by kids half my age in Valorant before I even know they’re there, and as an esports fan, watching emerging talent from all over the world show up and shut down is always exciting. Those skills transfer, but sometimes its hard to connect the dots. In its own way, this scheme does that for you.
As I said, applications have closed, but if the campaign has been as successful as it appears to have been, I’ve no doubt it may make a reappearance next year. “We’re building the strongest, sharpest workforce in aviation history,” Duffy says, and I doubt that’ll end in 2026. You can keep an eye on the recruitment page, if you’re interested.
