Facing shortages and close call collisions, the government is making it easier for graduates to become air traffic controllers.

The agency is looking to reduce bottlenecks as it attempts to reverse a longstanding slide in air traffic controller staffing.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration will begin taking new applications for flight controllers Oct. 11 as it works to reverse a decades-long decline in its workforce.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced Wednesday it will be allowing two Oklahoma schools to move forward with programs that would allow new air traffic controllers to skip the agency’s training academy.

The Federal Aviation Administration says that graduates of two college air traffic control programs can now bypass the agency’s backlogged training academy.