With air traffic controllers in the news lately, NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks Emily Hanoka, a former controller who retired earlier this year, about the stresses and sacrifices involved in the work.

Air traffic controllers missed their first paychecks Tuesday amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. One controller, Zac Ploch, is speaking out. With 10 years of experience, Ploch has spent the ...

The government picked a company with little experience working with the Federal Aviation Administration called Peraton to ...

Air traffic controllers are the unseen guardians of the skies, ensuring that every aircraft moves safely and efficiently from take-off to landing. Whether guiding a single-engine Cessna or a fully ...

Four days into the government shutdown, Jack Criss, an air traffic control specialist at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, assumed a second role — driving for DoorDash. “My financial obligations ...

Updated October 9, 2025 at 9:18 AM EDT Air traffic controllers will continue to work under strain as the government shutdown drags on, according to the head of the union that represents them. "What ...

According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Peraton won out by submitting an "innovative approach" that would ...

"It’s getting more tense, more stressful,” one veteran flight controller—who has resorted to delivering food to pay his bills—tells PEOPLE Johnny Dodd is a senior writer at PEOPLE, who focuses on ...

Staffing shortages snarled flights at a slew of major airports on Friday. A surge in callouts among air traffic controllers "is straining staffing levels" at multiple airports across the U.S. -- ...