2026年4月10日 / 美国东部时间下午12:50 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
作者：马克·奥斯本
被父母叮嘱别再浪费时间玩游戏、赶紧找份工作的年轻人，如今有了一个能将两者结合的途径——这要感谢美国交通部。
在美国面临严重的空中交通管制员短缺问题之际，美国交通部长肖恩·达菲周五宣布，交通部将瞄准游戏玩家，吸纳他们加入机场塔台的员工队伍。
“为了吸引下一代空中交通管制员，我们需要做出改变，”达菲在一份声明中表示。“这场活动采用创新的传播方式，聚焦游戏群体，精准触达了越来越多的年轻成年人，他们具备成为一名优秀管制员所需的多项核心技能。”
在过去十年里，美国多家机场一直面临空中交通管制员短缺的问题。增加人手是达菲的首要任务。根据美国政府问责局去年12月发布的一份报告，尽管2015财年至2024财年的总航班量增长了10%，但2025财年联邦航空管理局雇用的空中交通管制员人数比2015年减少了6%。
纽瓦克自由国际机场去年受影响尤其严重，原因是管理该新泽西机场航班的费城空中交通管制设施人员不足。去年11月的政府停摆也加剧了空中交通管制员短缺的诸多问题，员工被迫无薪工作一个多月，还有一些人干脆选择离开这个行业。
“44天不给空中交通管制员发工资造成了不确定性，迫使许多经验丰富的管制员离职，也破坏了招聘渠道，”交通部发言人去年11月告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻。
政府指出，美国有超过2亿人经常玩电子游戏。
“目前只有约25%的管制员拥有传统大学学历，此次招聘行动旨在接触那些追求非传统职业道路的优秀年轻人，其中很多人都活跃在游戏领域，”交通部在新闻稿中表示。“从管制员离职面谈获得的反馈也印证了这一点，多名管制员提到，游戏经历对他们快速思考、保持专注和应对复杂情况的能力有帮助。”
根据政府问责局的信息，尽管不需要传统大学学历，但潜在的空中交通管制员必须通过能力测试，获得医疗和安全许可，才能开始培训。随后他们需要在俄克拉荷马城的联邦航空管理局学院接受4至6个月的培训，并完成大量的在职培训。总体而言，成为一名合格的空中交通管制员可能需要2至6年的时间。
交通部宣称，该局已完成2025财年的招聘目标，共雇用了2000多名空中交通管制员，并且已经完成了2026年招聘目标的一半。
根据美国劳工统计局的数据，2024年（可获得联邦数据的最新年份），空中交通管制员的年薪中位数为144580美元。
但薪资因经验和工作地点差异巨大。航空专家表示，小型机场经验较少的管制员年薪接近6万美元。
梅根·塞鲁洛对本文亦有贡献。
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/laguardia-airport-plane-collision-highlights-pressures-for-air-traffic-controllers/
The U.S. faces an air traffic controller shortage. It’s turning to gamers for help.
April 10, 2026 / 12:50 PM EDT / CBS News
By Mark Osborne
Young people told by their parents to stop wasting their time playing video games and get a job now have a way to meld the two together, courtesy of the Department of Transportation.
As the U.S. deals with a dangerous shortage of air traffic controllers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Friday the department would be targeting gamers to join the ranks of employees sitting in airport control towers.
“To reach the next generation of air traffic controllers, we need to adapt,” Duffy said in a statement. “This campaign’s innovative communication style and focus on gaming taps into a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller.”
The agency has been dealing with ATC shortages at many airports across the country over the past decade. Increasing numbers is a top priority for Duffy. The Federal Aviation Administration employed 6% fewer air traffic controllers in fiscal year 2025 versus 2015, despite a 10% increase in total flights between fiscal years 2015 and 2024, according to a report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office released in December.
Newark Liberty International Airport was particularly hard-hit last year due to staffing shortages at the Philadelphia air traffic control facility that manages flights into the New Jersey airport. The government shutdown last November also exacerbated many issues with air traffic controller shortages as employees were forced to work without pay for more than a month. Others decided to leave the industry entirely.
“The failure to pay air traffic controllers for 44 days created uncertainty, drove many experienced controllers out of the profession and harmed the recruitment pipeline,” a spokesperson from the Department of Transportation told CBS News in November.
The government points out that more than 200 million people in the U.S. regularly play video games.
“With only about 25 percent of controllers holding a traditional college degree, this effort is focused on reaching talented young people pursuing alternative career paths, many of whom are active in gaming,” the department said in its press release. “Feedback from controller exit interviews reinforces this, with several controllers pointing to gaming as an influence on their ability to think quickly, stay focused, and manage complexity.”
Even though it doesn’t require a traditional college degree, prospective air traffic controllers must pass an aptitude test and get medical and security clearance before they can begin training, according to GAO. They then progress to a four- to six-month training course at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, and extensive on-the-job training, according to GAO. In total, it could take two to six years to become a certified air traffic controller.
The agency touted that it met its fiscal year 2025 goals with more than 2,000 air traffic controllers being hired, and said it is already halfway to its 2026 goal.
In 2024 — the last year for which federal data is available — the median annual wage for air traffic controllers was $144,580, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But pay varies widely based on experience and location. Annual income for less experienced controllers at smaller airports is closer to $60,000, according to aviation experts.
Megan Cerullo contributed to this report.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/laguardia-airport-plane-collision-highlights-pressures-for-air-traffic-controllers/
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