Washington ( CNN ) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has fired two air traffic controllers , one of whom worked in Knoxville , Tennessee , and the other in Miami , Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Wednesday . Both were fired for sleeping incidents , according to the Transportation Department . The firings followed a spate of incidents in which controllers in various cities were reported to be sleeping while on duty . The controllers fired Wednesday were not identified , but one such sleeping incident at the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center was among the most recently reported , with the FAA suspending a unidentified controller there last Saturday . In February , a controller was found sleeping while on duty in the radar room at the McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville . The FAA said earlier this month it was taking steps to fire that controller . Aside from Miami and Knoxville , cases of sleeping controllers have been reported in Washington ; Seattle , and Reno , Nevada . There have been two suspected cases in Lubbock , Texas . All the incidents occurred during controllers ' midnight shifts . Most -- though not all -- of the lapses occurred at local control towers . In at least one incident , the FAA has said the controller deliberately went to sleep , while some of the others appear to have been accidental . In response to the reports , top officials from the FAA and the air traffic controllers ' union began a cross-country tour of air traffic control facilities this week to hold a series of meetings about safety and professionalism . And federal officials announced a series of new regulations Saturday aimed at preventing air traffic controllers from falling asleep while on duty . Among other things , controllers now must have a minimum of nine hours off between shifts , instead of the current minimum of eight hours , LaHood said . In addition , controllers can no longer be put on an unscheduled midnight shift following a day off . FAA managers also will schedule their own shifts so as to ensure greater coverage in the early morning and late night hours , the secretary added . LaHood said the FAA and the air traffic controllers ' union agreed to implement changes immediately following the series of recent incidents involving sleeping air traffic controllers . CNN 's Jeanne Meserve and Mike Ahlers contributed to this report .
The firings follow a spate of reports about snoozing controllers . Federal officials announced new regulations Saturday aimed at preventing such incidents . The FAA and the pilots ' union agreed to immediate action .