Alarm after Trump admin hires 2,000 gamers to fill air traffic controller jobs: ‘If they f*** up, people die’

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cheers hiring spree but others more skeptical: ‘They can’t just restart a new game’

The agency hired more than 2,000 air traffic controllers this year after a campaign targeting gamers -- and has already hit 94% of its recruitment goal, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced.

Regardless of your age, chances are that you know at least one person in your life who loves video games, and a recent campaign by the U.S. Department of Transportation shows that those skills might be best served at your nearest airport.

For more than a decade there has been a shortage of air traffic controllers in the U.S., which has resulted in flight delays and increased risks for air travelers. And the Department of Transportation (DOT) is looking to video game enthusiasts to help fill those gaps. The DOT first launched a program in 2025 to recruit