Air traffic controllers earn about $160,000 on average, and the job doesn't require a college degree. Still, the government is short by 3,000 people.

The award-winning new Terminal A may be the pride of Newark Liberty International Airport. But behind the scenes, the technology that’s keeping the planes in the sky is frighteningly out of date. Some of it relies on floppy discs and used parts sourced from eBay, federal officials said this week.

A “hotline” between air traffic controllers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and the Pentagon intended to coordinate aircraft has not worked since March 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration revealed in a congressional hearing Wednesday.