Story ID: 
Embry-Riddle Joins FAA Controller Training Program
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Third school to participate in the FAA’s Enhanced Air Traffic – Collegiate Training Initiative program
Word Count: 269
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) signed an agreement to become the third school, and the first outside of Oklahoma, to participate in the FAA’s Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) program. Under the agreement with the FAA, ERAU’s Daytona Beach, Florida campus will offer the same curriculum and use the same training technologies as the FAA Air Traffic Controller Academy in Oklahoma City.
The agency has formed similar agreements with Tulsa Community College and the University of Oklahoma as it seeks to expand its training capacity to facilitate a ramp-up in air traffic controller training. As it continues to scale up its controller hiring—the FAA hired 1,500 controllers in 2023, is hiring 1,800 this year, and plans to hire 2,000 in 2025—the agency continues to accept applications from schools interested in participating in the Enhanced AT-CTI program.
Students must pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment, meet medical and security requirements, and demonstrate performance before they can receive an endorsement certificate from an Enhanced AT-CTI school. Once obtaining the certificate, graduates can report to an FAA facility for further training. The enhanced collegiate program differs from the standard program under which graduates go to the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City but can bypass the introductory air traffic basics course.
“The FAA is working to strengthen our controller workforce and create a continuous pipeline of talent,” said Tim Arel, COO of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization. “The safety of the National Airspace System and the traveling public is always our number-one priority. Working with schools like Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University will continue that mission.”