Global aviation sector faces staffing risks as air traffic controller poaching intensifies

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Aviation staffing risks

Highlights

Countries like Australia and Canada are poaching experienced air traffic controllers internationally as local staff depart for higher pay and better conditions.
CAE forecasts a need for 71,000 new global air traffic controllers by 2034, highlighting an urgent training and recruitment gap.
Industry groups and agencies urge expanded training, cost-sharing, and retention efforts, as staff departures outpace new controller development and risk operational shortages.

Cross-border hiring strains controller supply

As reported by Reuters, countries including Australia, Canada and South Africa are seeking experienced controllers from abroad even as some of their own staff leave for better pay, stronger working conditions and, in some cases, the chance to work beyond retirement age limits at home.

Two people with knowledge of the matter said some controllers employed by Airservices Australia are moving to Qatar, which has recently advertised for staff. NAV CANADA, which normally hires only citizens or permanent residents as controllers, said it has recently used an external firm in a limited, targeted effort to recruit eight foreign controllers willing to immigrate to Canada.

The scale of the shortage is significant. Aviation training firm CAE forecast in 2025 that 71,000 new air traffic controllers will be needed globally by 2034, underscoring the challenge for an industry that cannot train replacements quickly enough to match demand.

Retention and training emerge as longer-term priorities

Aviation officials say moving experienced controllers between countries may ease immediate staffing pressure, but it does little to solve the broader imbalance in the global labor pool. Training new controllers can take years, leaving providers exposed when experienced staff depart faster than replacements can be prepared.

South Africa's Air Traffic and Navigation Services agency said it limits the number of staff it seeks from individual countries after losing 28 controllers itself within eight months between 2024 and last year. New Zealand's agency similarly said air navigation service providers should address shortages collectively rather than simply shifting the problem from one organization to another.

Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, a global trade group representing air traffic control providers, is examining ways to share training costs between controllers' current employers and the organizations that trained them. Officials say recruitment alone cannot restore balance, and that countries need to expand training and improve retention to reduce operational risk.

Our earlier coverage of executive pay trends in South Africa highlighted how remuneration for CEOs and CFOs at JSE Top 200 companies is rising quickly, with variable incentives growing much faster than base pay. The piece also noted tougher governance rules taking effect from May 2026, including mandatory disclosure of pay ratios and binding shareholder votes on remuneration that can restrict directors’ roles on pay committees.

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