The FAA is putting $26 million on the table to help build the aviation workforce pipeline — and flight schools, aviation nonprofits, and training organizations have about a month to apply.
Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the funding on May 18, calling it a direct response to growing demand for pilots, maintenance technicians, and drone operators as air travel hits record levels.
“More Americans are flying today than ever before,” Duffy said. “We are investing in our aviation workforce to meet growing demand while maintaining the highest standards of safety.”
Here’s what the grants cover, who can apply, and why this round is a significant step up from previous years.
How the Money Is Split
The $26 million is divided evenly between two competitive grant programs:
$13 million for Aircraft Pilots Workforce Development Grants. These fund programs that educate and recruit students to become pilots or drone operators. Eligible uses include building or improving flight training curricula, creating scholarship programs, funding simulator-based training, supporting military-to-civilian pilot career transitions, and outreach to recruit the next generation of aviators.
$13 million for Aviation Maintenance Technical Workers Workforce Development Grants. These support programs focused on educating and recruiting future aircraft mechanics and maintenance technicians. Eligible uses include developing A&P training curricula, establishing registered apprenticeships or internships, supporting veteran transitions into maintenance careers, and outreach to underrepresented communities.
Each individual grant can be up to $1 million per year, with funded projects running up to two years. That means a successful applicant could receive up to $2 million total over the life of their project.
Who Can Apply
These grants are not for individuals. You can’t apply for a personal scholarship or flight training funding through this program.
Eligible applicants include flight schools, aviation maintenance training schools, colleges and universities with aviation programs, aviation-related nonprofit organizations, air carriers, labor groups, and state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on grants.gov outlines the full application criteria, evaluation standards, and submission requirements. Applications must be submitted electronically.
The deadline is June 18, 2026 (some sources report June 22 — check the NOFO on grants.gov for the official date for each program).
This Round Is Nearly Double the Previous Year
The $26 million allocation is a meaningful jump. In fiscal year 2024, the FAA awarded $13.5 million through the same program. This round nearly doubles that.
For context, the FAA awarded a cumulative $33.5 million across the first three rounds of the program from fiscal years 2022 through 2024. A single round of $26 million signals that the administration is treating workforce development as a higher priority than previous funding levels suggested.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently reviewed the program and found that industry stakeholders supported it — but questioned whether earlier funding levels were large enough to make a meaningful dent in the workforce gap. This round appears to address that concern.
What the Program Has Funded Before
Previous grant recipients range from small flight schools to major universities to nonprofit aviation organizations. The FAA’s awards page lists all prior recipients with an interactive map.
Funded projects have included high school aviation career exploration programs, university flight training curriculum development, Part 147 maintenance school equipment purchases, veteran-to-mechanic transition programs, scholarship funds for underrepresented student populations, and simulator acquisition for Part 141 training programs.
The common thread: every funded project must demonstrate how it will generate measurable progress toward growing the aviation workforce pipeline. The FAA isn’t funding general operations — it’s funding specific, outcome-oriented programs with defined timelines.
The Bigger Workforce Picture
This grant program didn’t come out of nowhere. It was created by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, which mandated separate grant tracks for pilots and maintenance workers. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 extended the program through fiscal year 2028 and added a third track for aviation manufacturing technical workers and aerospace engineers.
The need is well-documented. Boeing’s most recent workforce forecast projects demand for 649,000 new pilots and 690,000 new maintenance technicians globally over the next 20 years. In the U.S. alone, the pilot training pipeline has surged — the FAA counted 370,000 active student pilot certificates in 2025 — but converting students into licensed professionals remains a bottleneck constrained by instructor availability, training capacity, and cost.
On the maintenance side, the shortage is arguably more acute. The average age of A&P mechanics continues to climb. Part 147 schools are producing graduates, but not at the rate needed to replace retirements and support fleet growth. The grants aim to expand training capacity and make aviation maintenance careers more visible to high school and college-age students who may not be considering them.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford framed the investment clearly: “These new funding opportunities support education and training programs that help build a strong pipeline of talent and invest in the future of America’s aviation workforce.”
What Flight Schools and Training Organizations Should Do
If you operate a flight school, Part 147 maintenance program, or aviation nonprofit, this is real money aimed directly at your mission. Here’s how to approach it:
Read the NOFO carefully. The Notice of Funding Opportunity on grants.gov is the authoritative document. It defines eligibility, evaluation criteria, and exactly what the FAA is looking for in a successful application. Don’t guess — read the criteria and build your proposal around them.
Focus on outcomes. The FAA wants to fund programs that produce measurable results — students trained, certificates earned, careers launched. A vague proposal about “raising awareness” is weaker than one with specific enrollment targets, completion timelines, and employment placement metrics.
Create an account on grants.gov now. If you don’t already have one, the registration process can take time. Don’t wait until the week before the deadline.
Apply soon. The deadline is approximately four weeks away. The FAA encourages early submission. If you’re starting from scratch on the application, that timeline is tight.
The full details, FAQs, and application links are at faa.gov/go/awd.
