WATCH: ‘We blew the socks off’: Gamer campaign nets 12K applications for air traffic controllers in 1 day

The Federal Aviation Administration received 12,000 applications for air traffic controllers within 24 hours of running a high-energy ad targeting the video gaming community.

“We blew the socks off any prior record,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News’ Peter Doocy Sunday.

Duffy said the idea came after a random sample of students at the Federal Aviation Administration’s air traffic controller academy in Oklahoma City found the vast majority were gamers.

Of the applicants, 11,000 were found to be qualified, and 8,000 have already been sent to take a skills test required to work for the government.

The Trump administration is working to alleviate the shortage of air traffic controllers, which has worsened in recent years as employment has declined and flights have increased. 

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