Do air traffic controllers get to fly free?

Although air traffic controllers may not get free flights like flight attendants do, they still have attractive employee benefits. For example, their employers often give them permanent discounts which they can use to buy tickets and other products that the airport or a specific airline carries.



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Air traffic control is a high-pressure job that requires quick thinking and decision-making in high-stress situations. Demanding work schedules. Air traffic controllers often work long and irregular hours, including overnight and weekend shifts, which can be challenging for maintaining a work-life balance.

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Because air traffic control facilities operate 24 hours per day, they often work over 40 hours per week. Air traffic controllers are subject to federal regulations that require them to work shifts of 10 hours and take a minimum of nine-hour breaks between shifts.

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The pros of being an air traffic controller include job stability, good earning potential, and the satisfaction of ensuring safe and efficient air travel, while the cons involve high stress levels, demanding work schedules, and the need to maintain constant focus and attention to detail.

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Being an air traffic controller is an extremely high-stress job, with workers responsible for the movement and direction of thousands of lives onboard commercial and general aviation aircraft every day.

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Controllers train for many years to qualify for the job, and only around 1% of applicants make it through to qualify. Initially, a controller will spend approximately 12 months studying both the practical and theoretical sides of air traffic control at a specialist college.

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But it can also be a high-stress job, and becoming an air traffic controller involves a grueling training process that can typically take between 18 months and three years. The training requires a series of tests, skills assessments, and both physical and psychological exams.

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Most air traffic controllers do not have a traditional work schedule of Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm each day. The reason for this is that their services are critical and are needed around the clock. That's why most air traffic controllers work rotating schedules in a 24-hour period.

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Air traffic controllers must remain focused and react quickly to conditions that change frequently. Being responsible for the safety of aircraft and their passengers may be stressful and exhausting. To prevent burnout, the FAA requires controllers to retire at age 56.

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On top of contollers' rocky history, federal law requires that they retire at 56, in part because controllers have to stay current on advancing technology. The Federal Aviation Administration argues burnout gets more acute for workers by their mid 50s.

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And then there's the issue of age: In the US, air traffic controllers are required to retire at the age of 56, and the FAA won't hire anyone older than age 31, because they want candidates to have at least a 25-year career path. “We have 1,200 fewer air traffic controllers today than we had 10 years ago,” says Freeman.

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All applicants who are selected are required to attend training at the FAA Academy, which lasts anywhere between 3-5 months. Applications to become a controller are only available during an ATC open bid or application window.

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Most often, developmental controllers who fail field qualification training are terminated from employment. However, in some cases, field-training failures may request reassignment to a lower volume and less complex ATC facility.

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Air traffic controllers are enterprising and conventional They also tend to be conventional, meaning that they are usually detail-oriented and organized, and like working in a structured environment.

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Top companies for Air Traffic Controllers in United States
  • Federal Aviation Administration. 4.1 $125,736per year. 417 reviews42 salaries reported.
  • US Navy. 4.2 $66,788per year. ...
  • United States Department Of Defense. 4.2 $53,262per year. ...
  • U.S. Army. 4.3 $51,996per year. ...
  • Serco Group. 3.4 $49,836per year. ...
  • Show more companies.


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This shows that most pilots may have less worry about their financial problems and therefore less stress. In conclusion, the ATC position is more stressful than being a pilot because they have larger responsibility to control lives in the air and on the ground in same time.

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Is ATC or pilot harder? Piloting, especially on large, complex aircraft, is largely a matter of training and practice. Talent is required, of course, but mostly you just have to put your hours in. In that sense, training and qualifying to be an airline pilot is more rigorous than becoming an ATC at a busy facility.

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3,177 newly hired controller candidates received training at the FAA Academy. Of these, only 98 candidates (3.1 percent) failed Academy training.

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On average, air traffic controllers are paid six-figure salaries because the nature of the work is stressful, exhausting, and leaves no room for error. 2021 data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the median salary of air traffic controllers per year is $129,750 / $62.38 per hour.

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