Aviation expert warns Canada losing more air traffic controllers than it is hiring

An aviation expert says Canada is losing more air traffic controllers to retirement than it is hiring, despite efforts to ramp up recruitment.

John Gradek from McGill University’s aviation management program says the country is short about 1,500 air traffic controllers, and 150 more retire each year.

He said air traffic controllers are highly specialised with a “special skill set.”

Nav Canada, which certifies and hires “air traffic service professionals”, is trying to address staffing through a multi-year recruitment strategy.

There are many different roles which encompass “air traffic professionals,” including area centre controllers and tower controllers.

The air traffic controllers who issue instructions to pilots and ensure that aircraft are kept a safe distance apart are area centre controllers (or ACC controllers).

Tower controllers provide pilots clearances and instructions to maintain separation during takeoff and landing.

The total training time ranges from 10 to 18 months for tower controllers, and 20 to 27 months for ACC controllers.

The salary range for a Canadian controller can top $200,000 a year after they’re fully certified — according to Nav Canada — while controllers in training earn about $60,000. The median pay for American controllers in 2024 was $US 144,580, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Gradek says Nav Canada is not keeping up with retirement rates.

The increased scrutiny in air traffic follows after the crash of Air Canada Flight 8646 at LaGuardia airport in New York Sunday.

Both pilots were killed, and over 40 people were injured when the jet crashed into a fire truck on the runway, after landing late Sunday night.

With files from The Canadian Press.

READ MORE: Air Canada pilots killed in collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport identified