The world's largest general aviation gathering is underway. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2026 opened Monday, July 20 at Wittman Regional Airport (KOSH) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and runs through Sunday, July 26 — seven days of arrivals, forums, and daily air shows that briefly make KOSH's tower one of the busiest control operations in the world.
The FAA came to Oshkosh with numbers
The agency opened the week with a concrete workforce update: 1,980 new air traffic controllers hired so far in 2026 — about 90% of its hiring goal for the year, per the FAA's announcement as the show opened on July 20. Controller staffing has been the defining operational story of the past several years, so a near-complete hiring year is news pilots will feel in the system, from clearance delivery wait times to center sector coverage.
Safety Center forums run all week
The FAA Safety Center at AirVenture is hosting forums from July 20 through July 25, covering the agency's current safety priorities for general aviation. The published schedule spans runway safety, weather decision-making, airspace, and certification topics — the kind of sessions worth planning a show day around. The full schedule is posted on FAASafety.gov.
Flying in? The Notice governs
KOSH operates under special arrival and departure procedures for the duration of the show, published in the FAA's official AirVenture 2026 Notice. If you are flying in this week, the Notice is mandatory reading — see our companion guide to the arrival procedure on the blog.
Sources
- EAA — AirVenture Oshkosh 2026, July 20-26 (eaa.org/airventure)
- FAA Safety Center Forums schedule, July 20-25 (FAASafety.gov)
- FAA announcement, July 20, 2026 — controller hiring at 90% of the 2026 goal