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Note also that they deliberately choke off the hiring funnel before they even get applicants, and deliberately dispose of experienced controllers. Air traffic c

Note also that they deliberately choke off the hiring funnel before they even get applicants, and deliberately dispose of experienced controllers. Air traffic controller applicants must be under 31 years old for initial hire. The mandatory retirement age is 56. Although there are limited exceptions to both rules.

toomuchtodo 8mo ago
Air traffic controllers require a significant investment by the federal government, I take no issue with age limits for both investment (lower bound) and safety reasons (upper bound) (if the data says it is reasonable, I'll always defer to the data). I take exceptional issue with the fact that their pay is not considered essential. There should be no way for this critical infrastructure to be not considered essential. ATC pay should flow regardless of actions of any branch of the federal government, and there should be robust systems in place to ensure these workers are not pushed beyond reasonable work limits. Fix the system or break the system forcing a fix. If it continues to work "good enough" without a fix, no changes will be made.
- ryandrake 8mo ago
  This assumes that controllers over 56 years old are statistically "unsafe," presumably due to perceived cognitive speed and ability. So unsafe that the concern overrides experience, familiarity with systems, and other key benefits of tenure. I'd love to see that data.
  - toomuchtodo 8mo ago
    My understanding is the 56 year old age limit is due to burnout and other accumulated negative risk factors from the profession. You have a shelf life like a professional athlete due to the sustained high cognitive load and stress of the workload. Replies open to additional references and citations. It would make an interesting reality TV show to have a group of 60-70 year olds attempt to perform a simulated 8 hour ATC shift under "live fire" conditions. https://web.archive.org/web/20260323212332/https://www.crisisjournal.org/article/88000-air-traffic-controller-health-and-well-being.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20260323212332/https://www.crisi... https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/media/Fatigue_Report.pdf https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/media/Fatigue_Report.pdf https://news.siu.edu/2025/07/072225-siu-research-focuses-on-air-traffic-controllers-mental-health.php https://news.siu.edu/2025/07/072225-siu-research-focuses-on-...
  - irishcoffee 8mo ago
    An elderly woman ran into a bus stop at 70mph, killing 4 people. Their claim was “I couldn’t stop, I don’t know what happened” They were given 200 hours community service. I think this happened today.
    - toomuchtodo 8mo ago
      78 years old at the time, now 80, sentenced to probation. https://people.com/family-four-killed-bus-stop-outrage-driver-likely-avoid-jail-11931048 https://people.com/family-four-killed-bus-stop-outrage-drive... https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/news/sfpd-arrests-driver-fatal-vehicle-collision-24-026 https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/news/sfpd-arrests-driver-... (SFPD Case #240-160-569)
    - mikkupikku 8mo ago
      Why you got to pick an asian woman as your example though?
      - irishcoffee 8mo ago
        I was trying to show that elderly people probably shouldn't be air traffic controllers by providing an extremely recent example of an elderly person ending the lives of an entire family using a car. I didn't mention that the driver was asian. You did. :)
  - jjk166 8mo ago
    https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/58231 https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/58231
- lokar 8mo ago
  Also, their pay comes from a fund filled by airport fees, not the general budget.
nico 8mo ago
Those age limits should apply to all political offices

toomuchtodo 8mo ago

Air traffic controllers require a significant investment by the federal government, I take no issue with age limits for both investment (lower bound) and safety reasons (upper bound) (if the data says it is reasonable, I'll always defer to the data). I take exceptional issue with the fact that their pay is not considered essential. There should be no way for this critical infrastructure to be not considered essential. ATC pay should flow regardless of actions of any branch of the federal government, and there should be robust systems in place to ensure these workers are not pushed beyond reasonable work limits. Fix the system or break the system forcing a fix. If it continues to work "good enough" without a fix, no changes will be made.

ryandrake 8mo ago
This assumes that controllers over 56 years old are statistically "unsafe," presumably due to perceived cognitive speed and ability. So unsafe that the concern overrides experience, familiarity with systems, and other key benefits of tenure. I'd love to see that data.
- toomuchtodo 8mo ago
  My understanding is the 56 year old age limit is due to burnout and other accumulated negative risk factors from the profession. You have a shelf life like a professional athlete due to the sustained high cognitive load and stress of the workload. Replies open to additional references and citations. It would make an interesting reality TV show to have a group of 60-70 year olds attempt to perform a simulated 8 hour ATC shift under "live fire" conditions. https://web.archive.org/web/20260323212332/https://www.crisisjournal.org/article/88000-air-traffic-controller-health-and-well-being.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20260323212332/https://www.crisi... https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/media/Fatigue_Report.pdf https://www.faa.gov/newsroom/media/Fatigue_Report.pdf https://news.siu.edu/2025/07/072225-siu-research-focuses-on-air-traffic-controllers-mental-health.php https://news.siu.edu/2025/07/072225-siu-research-focuses-on-...
- irishcoffee 8mo ago
  An elderly woman ran into a bus stop at 70mph, killing 4 people. Their claim was “I couldn’t stop, I don’t know what happened” They were given 200 hours community service. I think this happened today.
  - toomuchtodo 8mo ago
    78 years old at the time, now 80, sentenced to probation. https://people.com/family-four-killed-bus-stop-outrage-driver-likely-avoid-jail-11931048 https://people.com/family-four-killed-bus-stop-outrage-drive... https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/news/sfpd-arrests-driver-fatal-vehicle-collision-24-026 https://www.sanfranciscopolice.org/news/sfpd-arrests-driver-... (SFPD Case #240-160-569)
  - mikkupikku 8mo ago
    Why you got to pick an asian woman as your example though?
    - irishcoffee 8mo ago
      I was trying to show that elderly people probably shouldn't be air traffic controllers by providing an extremely recent example of an elderly person ending the lives of an entire family using a car. I didn't mention that the driver was asian. You did. :)
- jjk166 8mo ago
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/58231 https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/58231
lokar 8mo ago
Also, their pay comes from a fund filled by airport fees, not the general budget.

nico 8mo ago

Those age limits should apply to all political offices