A Donald Trump pledge to fork over a $10,000 bonus to certain air traffic controllers has been blasted as "counterproductive".

The president claimed that those who had worked through the government shutdown would be rewarded for their service. This was denounced by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association at the time, who suggested just 311 of its more than 10,000 members would receive said bonus.

Trump had posted to Truth Social on November 10, "All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesn’t will be substantially 'docked.' REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY. For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU."

But a promise to hand out $10,000 to those who carried on working was also made by the president, and it has since been denounced by Senator Tammy Duckworth as being unfair to a majority of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Not only that, but such a choice at a time of crisis for the FAA is "completely counterproductive" to the drop in employees the workforce experienced during the shutdown.

Senator Duckworth wrote in a letter seen by CBS, "Excluding 96 percent of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Air Traffic Controller and Technician workforce from this bonus is unfair, divisive and disrespectful to the over 20,000 dedicated Federal employees who worked under extremely stressful conditions to ensure our Nation Airspace System (NAS) was safe during the 2025 shutdown."

She would also say it was "an insult" to controllers adapting to the longest government shutdown in history, and said more needed to be done by the government to retain air traffic controller employees.

Senator Duckworth suggested the government should "be doing everything we can to retain and recruit air traffic controllers, the Trump Administration choosing to punish and alienate 96% of the FAA's controller and technician workforce is completely counterproductive."

A statement from the NATCA earlier this year aired concern for thousands of workers who could miss out on the bonus promised by the president.

Their statement reads, “We are concerned that thousands of air traffic controllers who consistently reported for duty during the shutdown, ensuring the safe transport of passengers and cargo across the nation, while working without pay and uncertain of when they would receive compensation, were excluded from this recognition. More than 311 of these dedicated professionals were instrumental in keeping America moving."