FAA and air traffic controllers extend contract four years

The Federal Aviation Administration extended its contract with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association through 2016, CNN has reported.

The deal, reached Wednesday, comes six months before the current contract was set to expire on Oct. 1. As part of the new pact, the nation’s 15,000 air traffic controllers will receive the same pay raise the president and Congress authorize for other federal employees, instead of independently negotiating raises as they have in the past, according to CNN.

President Obama has requested a 0.5 percent pay raise for civilian federal employees in 2013, but it is unclear whether lawmakers will agree. Several Republicans have called for extending the current two-year salary freeze an extra year.

The air traffic agreement comes more than one month after Obama signed into law a $63 billion bill funding FAA through 2015.