FAA ATC Hiring Window Tracker: 2023–2026 Announcements

As of September 15, 2026, there is no open nationwide FAA announcement for air traffic control specialist trainees. The most recent one, FAA-ATO-26-ALLSRCE-97350, opened on USAJOBS on April 17, 2026 and closed the same afternoon once it reached its cap of 8,000 applications. The FAA has not published a date for the next general-public window, so the practical move is to have your application ready before it opens.

Last verified September 15, 2026. Dates and announcement numbers below come from the USAJOBS historic job announcement data and the announcement texts themselves. Hiring rules and dates change; the live USAJOBS listing is always the final word.

Is the FAA hiring air traffic controllers right now?

Not through a general trainee window. Here is what we found when we last checked:

• Nationwide trainee announcement: closed. The last one was FAA-ATO-26-ALLSRCE-97350 (April 17, 2026).
• Enhanced CTI direct hire: a standing public notice, FAA-ATO-26-PUBNOT-96438, runs from October 3, 2025 to October 2, 2026. It is limited to graduates of Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative programs (or students within 12 months of graduating) and requires a well-qualified ATSA result. See our guide to the Enhanced AT-CTI program.
• Experienced controllers: a separate public notice (FAA-FAA-26-PUB NOT-96466) is open to people with at least 52 consecutive weeks of certified air traffic control experience. It is not a trainee route.
• Alaska Flight Service trainees: AAL-ATO-26-ALLSRCE-99753 ran from August 3 to August 12, 2026, and is closed.

Nationwide trainee windows, 2023–2026

These are the general-public "ALLSRCE" announcements for Air Traffic Control Specialist – Trainee positions at FAA air traffic locations. The dates are the open and close dates recorded by USAJOBS.

Announcement	Open – close	What stood out
FAA-ATO-23-ALLSRCE-84315	May 5 – May 8, 2023	Pool 1 and Pool 2. The work-experience route required three years of full-time, progressively responsible experience (or a bachelor's degree, or a combination).
FAA-ATO-24-ALLSRCE-88674	April 19 – April 22, 2024	Same structure as 2023, including the three-year experience route.
FAA-ATO-24-ALLSRCE-92381	October 11 – November 4, 2024	A second 2024 window, open more than three weeks. The experience route dropped to one year of full-time work, with part-time work pro-rated.
FAA-ATO-25-ALLSRCE-94224	February 27 – March 17, 2025	Launched as the "hiring supercharge." The text said the FAA was selecting from the Best and Well Qualified ATSA categories and prioritizing Best Qualified. The FAA later said it received more than 10,000 applications.
FAA-ATO-26-ALLSRCE-97350	April 17, 2026 (same day)	Capped at 8,000 applications; the amendment note records the cap being reached at 3:13 p.m. Eastern. Required a "Best" or "Well-Qualified" ATSA result and mentioned a one-time incentive of up to $20,000 for some Academy graduates.

Two other announcements, FAA-ATO-25-ALLSRCE-94264 and FAA-ATO-25-ALLSRCE-94444, appear in the historic data with February and March 2025 dates. Both are recorded as custom announcements with the status "Job canceled," so we don't count them as real windows.

Location-specific and special announcements

Not every trainee announcement is open to applicants nationwide. If you only watch the big windows, you can miss these, and if you apply to one without reading the restrictions, you may not be eligible.

New York TRACON (N90) local announcements

FAA-ATO-23-ALLN90-85812 (August 28 – September 3, 2023) and FAA-ATO-25-ALLN90-95834 (August 8 – August 15, 2025) were limited to applicants living within 50 miles of Westbury, New York, where the N90 TRACON is located. Federal law allows the FAA, after consulting the controllers' union, to recruit from a local commuting area for certain very large radar facilities. The 2025 N90 announcement mentioned a one-time incentive of up to $10,000 for some Academy graduates.

Alaska Flight Service Station trainees

Announcements with the prefix AAL are for Flight Service Station specialists in Alaska, a different job from tower, TRACON or en route work, with training at the Alaska Flight Service Training Academy in Kenai. Recent ones include AAL-ATO-23-ALLSRCE-85111 (June 21 – July 10, 2023), AAL-ATO-24-ALLSRCE-88648 (February 12 – March 8, 2024) and AAL-ATO-26-ALLSRCE-99753 (August 3 – August 12, 2026). The 2026 text states that the Alaska Flight Service option has no maximum age requirement, which is unusual for controller roles. The FAA also ran several longer Alaska public notices during this period, some of which are recorded as canceled.

The 2026 AirVenture direct-hire event

FAA-ATO-26-PUBNOT-99451 (July 8 – July 24, 2026) was a direct-hire public notice tied to EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Attending in person during the week of July 20 was a condition, because pre-employment screening steps were done on site. Applicants still had to pass the ATSA.

What the pattern suggests (and what it doesn't)

From 2023 to 2026, the FAA opened one or two nationwide trainee windows a year: May 2023, April and October 2024, February–March 2025, and April 2026. Windows have lasted anywhere from less than a day to about three and a half weeks.

Advance notice has been short. In 2025, the FAA's press release announcing the window came out on the day it opened. In 2026, the FAA announced the April 17 opening on April 10, one week ahead.

That history doesn't tell you when the next window will open. The FAA's 2026 controller workforce plan sets hiring targets of 2,200, 2,300 and 2,400 new controllers for fiscal years 2026, 2027 and 2028, which points to continued hiring. But the plan doesn't commit to announcement dates, and the FAA can fill some of those numbers through other routes, including Enhanced CTI and experienced-controller hiring. Treat any specific prediction you see online, including a spring pattern, as a guess.

How to be ready before the next window

The 2026 window hit its 8,000-application cap and closed within a day. If the next one is capped too, the time to prepare is now, not when the announcement goes live.

1. Check your age against a realistic closing date. Recent announcements say you're not eligible if you are 31 or older on the closing date. If your 31st birthday is close, a short window could make or break your eligibility. Our age limit guide covers the exceptions.
2. Write your resume to the FAA's checklist. The FAA's applicant checklist asks for a two-page maximum, exact hours worked per week for each job, employment dates in mm/yyyy format, and a real description of your duties. Missing hours or dates can get an application rated ineligible.
3. Gather documents now. Depending on how you qualify: college transcripts showing the degree conferral date; for CTI graduates, the official endorsement letter on school letterhead; for veterans, a DD-214 (plus an SF-15 for 10-point preference); for prior federal controllers, an SF-50.
4. Decide your applicant pool. CTI graduates and eligible veterans can choose Pool 1; everyone else applies in Pool 2. You can't choose both. See Pool 1 vs Pool 2.
5. Set up USAJOBS in advance. Complete your USAJOBS profile, upload documents so you can reuse them, and save a search for the air traffic control series (2152) with email notifications turned on.
6. Know where your ATSA result stands. Previous ATSA results are valid for three years, and a new attempt replaces the old one even if it's lower. Read ATSA retakes and score validity before you decide whether to test again.
7. Plan for test-day travel. The FAA covers the ATSA itself, but announcements say travel to the Pearson VUE test center is at your own expense.
8. Get familiar with the test format. The FAA describes the ATSA as an aptitude test and says no preparation is necessary. Still, many applicants want to know what the sections look like before test day. You can try short demos of the ATC Simulation and Number Differences sections, and read how to prepare for the ATSA.

If you'd like a heads-up when a new announcement appears, you can sign up for hiring window alerts below. We check USAJOBS, but an alert is no substitute for your own saved search.

What happens after you apply

Once a window closes, FAA human resources checks your minimum qualifications and invites qualified applicants to schedule the ATSA. Results come back as a category, not a score, and recent announcements only moved forward applicants with Best or Well-Qualified results. For the steps and timing that follow, see how long ATSA results take and ATSA score bands explained. When you're ready to practice every section, full access is described on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

When is the next FAA air traffic controller hiring window?

The FAA hasn't announced one as of September 15, 2026. Nationwide windows opened in May 2023, April and October 2024, February 2025 and April 2026, but that's a history, not a schedule. Watch USAJOBS and faa.gov/atc-hiring.

How long do FAA hiring windows stay open?

It has varied a lot. The October 2024 window was open for more than three weeks, while the April 2026 window hit its 8,000-application cap and closed the day it opened. Plan to apply as early as you can.

Can I apply if I turn 31 before the announcement closes?

Recent trainee announcements say applicants who are 31 or older on the closing date aren't eligible, with narrow exceptions for people who were hired into FAA or Department of Defense civilian controller jobs before 31. The 2026 Alaska Flight Service announcement is an exception, stating no maximum age.

Do I need a college degree to apply?

No. Recent announcements list five ways to qualify, including one year of general work experience (about 2,080 hours, which can include part-time and volunteer work). Before October 2024, the work-experience route asked for three years.