FAA faces budget fight with air traffic controllers 3,500 below safety targets

The FAA entered a February 2026 congressional budget fight with approximately 10,800 certified air traffic controllers on duty against an agency target of 13,800, a shortfall that persisted since Reagan's 1981 PATCO strike. The shortage gained urgency after a January 2025 Army Black Hawk and American Airlines jet collision at Reagan National killed 67 people, where investigators found one controller managed two positions. Congress had secured $12.5 billion for a new ATC system in Trump's reconciliation bill.