Key figures · takes effect 18 October 2026
| Raise agreed by the FAA and NATCA | 2.8% | FAA press release, Oct 16, 2026 |
| Takes effect | Oct 18, 2026, backdated to the start of 2026 | FAA press release, Oct 16, 2026 |
| Controller raise for 2026 written into law | 3.8% | Public Law 119-86, sec. 548 (Apr 30, 2026) |
| Money Congress set aside for it | $140 million | Public Law 119-86, sec. 548 (Apr 30, 2026) |
| January 2026 raise, General Schedule | 1.0% | OPM, January 2026 Pay Schedules (91 FR 4973) |
| Median pay, US air traffic controllers | $148,080 a year | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| What 2.8% adds on the median | $4,146 a year | Paygrade calculation: BLS median x 2.8% |
| 2027 base and locality raise, General Schedule | 0% (FAA controllers not confirmed) | Alternative pay plan, Aug 26, 2026 (H. Doc. 119-189) |
US air traffic controllers are getting a 2.8% pay raise: the FAA and the controllers’ union, NATCA, announced the deal on October 16, 2026, and the FAA says it “takes effect Oct. 18 and is retroactive to the beginning of the year”. On the median controller salary of $148,080 (BLS, May 2025), 2.8% is worth about $4,146 a year before tax.
Who gets it, and what the FAA asked for in return
The raise covers air traffic controllers and “air traffic controller supervisors or managers who are not covered under such section, but who manage air traffic”, the groups named in the law that pays for it (Public Law 119-86, section 548). NATCA describes it as a “pay parity increase for eligible air traffic controllers” (NATCA, October 16).
That law, signed on April 30, 2026, set aside $140 million for the raise, but only “to the extent the Administrator determines, in his sole discretion, that improvements in workforce scheduling, staffing utilization, or other operational efficiencies are achieved”. The FAA says the deal meets that test with three changes:
- Badging in and out: controllers will badge in and out of their facilities, as most federal employees already do.
- Shifts built on demand: local managers and union representatives will set shift guidelines from forecast workload, to maximize coverage at peak traffic hours.
- Reassignments: transfers will go first to the facilities with the most severe staffing shortages.
Why 2.8% when the law says 3.8%
The law sets “a rate of pay increase for calendar year 2026 of 3.8 percent”. The FAA’s release calls the deal 2.8% and doesn’t explain the difference. Most federal civilian workers got a 1.0% across-the-board raise in January 2026 (OPM). If controllers had a matching 1.0% in January, the 2.8% would bring their 2026 raise to the 3.8% Congress set, but neither the FAA nor NATCA says so in its announcement. We’ll confirm it against the FAA’s pay bands when they’re published.
What 2.8% is worth: a worked example
The FAA hasn’t published new pay bands, so this example uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics median for air traffic controllers: $148,080 a year in May 2025.
| Amount, before tax | |
|---|---|
| Extra pay a year ($148,080 x 2.8%) | $4,146 |
| Extra pay every two weeks (26 pay periods) | $159 |
| Back pay for 20 pay periods (January 11 to October 17) | about $3,190 |
The back pay line rests on one assumption. The law starts the raise in “the first pay period beginning after January 1, 2026”, which on the standard federal pay calendar was January 11 (OPM). From then to the October 18 start date is 20 two-week pay periods. It covers base pay only.
Further down and up the scale, 2.8% is worth about $2,196 a year at the BLS 10th percentile ($78,420) and $6,037 at the 90th ($215,610).
The state picture
Controller pay varies widely by state, from $191,820 in Virginia to $88,110 in Mississippi among the states BLS publishes, so the same 2.8% is worth very different amounts:
| State | Median pay (BLS, May 2025) | 2.8% a year |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | $191,820 | $5,371 |
| Illinois | $181,560 | $5,084 |
| Georgia | $178,420 | $4,996 |
| Colorado | $177,380 | $4,967 |
| Minnesota | $176,840 | $4,952 |
| Texas | $170,080 | $4,762 |
| California | $160,080 | $4,482 |
| Florida | $147,530 | $4,131 |
| New York | $144,960 | $4,059 |
| Mississippi | $88,110 | $2,467 |
California, Texas and Florida employ the most controllers (2,290, 2,060 and 1,950 jobs). Every state is in the table on our US air traffic controller pay page, and the 12-country comparison shows how US pay stacks up abroad.
Limits of these figures
- The BLS figures are from May 2025, before this raise and before January’s, and they cover every employer of air traffic controllers, not only the FAA. They show what’s typical, not what any one controller earns.
- The examples use base pay. How overtime and other premium pay will be recalculated hasn’t been published.
- The FAA hasn’t said when back pay will be paid. How we handle official pay data is on our methodology page.
What happens next
The FAA hasn't published its new pay bands or the date back pay will be paid; we'll add both when it does. Then 2027: the president's August pay plan sets the 2027 base and locality raise for the General Schedule at zero, but controllers are paid under the FAA's own personnel system (49 U.S.C. 40122), and the FAA hasn't said what it will do. Last year's pay executive order was signed on December 18, 2025, so we'll check again in December and update this page with the 2027 figure.
On Paygrade
- Air traffic controller salary in 12 countries
- Air traffic controller pay in the US, state by state
- Air traffic controller career profile: requirements and the path in
- Why are air traffic controllers paid so much?
Sources
- FAA, Trump's Transportation Department, Air Traffic Controller Union Announce 2.8% Pay Increase Deal (October 16, 2026)
- NATCA, NATCA Announces Agreement on 2.8% Pay Parity Increase for Air Traffic Controllers (October 16, 2026)
- Public Law 119-86, Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026, section 548 (GovInfo) (April 30, 2026)
- Office of Personnel Management, January 2026 Pay Schedules, Federal Register 91 FR 4973 (GovInfo) (February 3, 2026)
- The White House, Alternative Plan for Pay Adjustments, House Document 119-189 (GovInfo) (August 26, 2026)
- 49 U.S.C. 40122(g), FAA personnel management system (GovInfo) (2023 edition)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, SOC 53-2021 air traffic controllers, national and state estimates (May 2025 estimates)
Pay Watch pieces are checked against the official sources above on the day they're published and updated when the source changes. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.