{"id":296,"date":"2026-05-12T22:37:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=296"},"modified":"2026-05-12T22:37:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T22:37:05","slug":"lithia-18-year-old-could-become-youngest-certified-air-traffic-controller-in-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=296","title":{"rendered":"Lithia 18-year-old could become youngest certified air traffic controller in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

BARTOW, Fla.<\/strong> – <\/span>An 18-year-old from Lithia is ready to work as a certified air traffic controller, potentially making her the youngest in the United States.<\/p>

Read more Tampa leaders, WWE star Titus O\u2019Neil promote alternative event for young people amid \u2018teen takeover\u2019 trend<\/a><\/p>

The backstory:<\/p>

For Tiffany Farmer, being an air traffic controller is a lot of fun.<\/p>

<\/div>

“It’s a good mix of procedures, organization and repetitiveness, but there’s also a little bit of creativity,” Farmer said. “Whenever something chaotic happens or out of the ordinary, you’re able to fix it.”\u00a0<\/p>

Making history<\/h2>

After earning her air traffic controller certification last week from Traviss Technical College at Bartow Executive Airport, Farmer may be the youngest certified controller in the country.\u00a0<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

Most don’t get into the field until they are in their early to mid-20s after going through the military.<\/p>

“Tiffany has the right demeanor for it,” Jeremy McArthur, the air traffic manager at Bartow Executive Airport, said. “Not everybody can do this job, but her [Farmer] in particular, it’s a personality thing as much as it [is] an intelligence thing. She has the drive for it.”\u00a0<\/p>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

The biggest challenge facing the industry right now is staffing. McArthur says everybody is working overtime, which leads to exhaustion.<\/p>

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“That need is everywhere, so the more controllers we can put out there, the more we can help this career field and make sure it’s still a safe environment for more pilots to operate in,” McArthur said.<\/p>

Traviss Technical College aims to have students CTO-certified in six months and proficient in a year, so they can be ready to work at any airport in the country.<\/p>

What’s next:<\/p>

Farmer says she hopes to be working next month someplace in the Northwest. And after working at smaller facilities, she may do her FAA training at a larger airport.<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>

“I’m excited to move and get started in a career this early,” Farmer said. “If I can do it, I think anyone can do it at such a young age.”\u00a0<\/p>

Farmer is the fifth controller to have graduated since the academy launched in March 2025. They currently have 21 students.\u00a0<\/p>

Read more Florida officers sue Ben Affleck and Matt Damon over film \u2018The Rip\u2019<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An 18-year-old from Lithia is ready to work as a certified air traffic controller, potentially making her the youngest in the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,37],"tags":[124,38],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bartow","category-education","tag-bartow","tag-education"],"yoast_head":"\nLithia 18-year-old could become youngest certified air traffic controller in the US - Tampa moving journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampamovingjournal.com\/?p=296\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lithia 18-year-old could become youngest certified air traffic controller in the US - 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