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The Biden administration quietly eliminated the top testing threshold for the highest-performing applicants seeking to become air traffic controllers, an internal slide seen by The Post confirms.
In 2023, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials scrapped the previous “best qualified” tier for candidates who scored 85% or above on the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) exam in favor of a “well qualified” threshold for applicants who scored at least 80%.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy revealed the change to The Post’s Miranda Devine on the latest episode of “Pod Force One,” out now.
“They lowered the standard from 85% to 80% to be best qualified … to get these young people into the academy,” Duffy said, referring to the FAA training school in Oklahoma City.
“What happened was, they had a substantial washout rate, 30%-plus,” Duffy went on, “because they couldn’t do the work.”
Since the Trump administration took office, Duffy claimed, “we’re getting the best scores in the academy first.”
“In two months after you take the entrance exam, we’re getting you into the academy. And what we’re doing is, if you’re at 98% on that test [or] 94 [%], you are going to take the top slots as slots become available.”
Once air traffic control candidates graduate from the academy, Duffy said, “it takes them, depending on where they’re at, if they’re in a not-so-busy airspace, they can be certified in a year.”
Under Duffy’s watch, the FAA has instituted a revised version of the prior ATSA grading system
Applicants are now separated into four tiers: “Best-qualified” for scores of 90% or more, “well-qualified” for scores between 85% and 89%, “qualified” for scores between 70% and 84%, and “not referred” for scores under 70%.
The Biden administration’s adjusted standards considered applicants “well-qualified” for scores of 80% and above, “qualified” for scores between 70% and 79.9%, and “not referred” for scores under 70%.
“Some category change on a pre-admission exam has nothing to do with the standards for becoming a certified ATC,” a spokesperson for former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told The Post about the ATSA changes.
“Seems like a desperate attempt to deflect from their inability to answer the simple question of whether the shortage is getting worse on his watch.”
Earlier this year, Buttigieg underscored that “we did not change the rigorous standard for becoming a certified air traffic controller.”
“Those claiming otherwise are mistaken or lying. We did increase funding & training, and grew the ATC workforce after years of declining numbers, including under Trump.”
Duffy also contended that the Biden administration’s system took so long to sift through applicants that “if … you take the test, you pass it, you got an 82%, it might take you two years to get your seat in the academy.
“Well, if you’re 22 years old, you’re gonna go find a different job. You’re not gonna stick around.”
Since the Jan. 29 mid-air collision over Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport that killed 67 people aboard a regional jet and a Black Hawk helicopter, the Department of Transportation has been scrambling to address a workforce shortage of air traffic controllers.
More than 2,000 air traffic controllers are expected to join the FAA this year as part of the agency’s workforce plan, with 8,900 projected to be hired by the end of 2028.
