WASHINGTON — The administration has stated that no personnel in essential safety roles at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been dismissed amid federal workforce reductions. However, the termination of some FAA positions has raised concerns since these jobs had direct links to supporting safety inspectors and airport operations, as highlighted by their union representatives and previous employees.
Approximately 400 workers began their layoffs on Friday. Details regarding the full list of affected positions are still emerging, but the union, which represents around 130 of those dismissed, reported that the laid-off employees included aviation safety assistants, maintenance mechanics, and nautical information specialists.
These roles are crucial for aiding aircraft safety inspectors, maintaining air traffic control facilities, and updating digital navigational charts for pilots. This includes implementing changes prompted by the FAA regarding planes operating in Washington airspace following a tragic midair collision last month.
FAA Administrator Sean Duffy assured the public over the weekend that no air traffic controllers or critical safety personnel were impacted by the workforce cuts. Halee Dobbins, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation, further confirmed that these layoffs primarily affected probationary employees who had been with the FAA for less than two years, representing less than 1% of the agency’s total of more than 45,000 employees.
Philip Mann, a former certified technician with the FAA, explained that the classification of jobs as “critical to safety” often hinges on whether an individual is authorized to conduct certified equipment inspections. While those who were let go were not directly responsible for inspections, they played essential supportive roles.
Mann noted that the absence of these personnel could result in significant long-term safety ramifications, as essential work may remain undone. This announcement follows a period of declining public confidence in air travel, exacerbated by a collision in January between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet in January at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. A recent poll indicated that 64% of U.S. adults perceive flight travel as “very safe” or “somewhat safe,” a decrease from 71% the prior year, with approximately 20% now deeming air travel as “somewhat unsafe.”
In the recent cuts, 18 air traffic control facilities lost maintenance mechanics—employees vital for addressing electronic issues and conducting repairs. David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Specialists Association, confirmed this impact. The departure of maintenance mechanics could hinder tasks related to critical infrastructure such as radar systems since certified technicians may have to take on their duties.
Spero emphasized that all these employees contributed to the safety oversight network, and their absence complicates the ability to maintain robust safety oversight. With the removal of nautical aviation specialists, updating pilots’ digital maps will be delayed. Aviation safety assistants also play a critical supporting role, akin to that of paralegals to lawyers, handling paperwork so inspectors can concentrate on aircraft evaluations.
Spero indicated that the layoffs included 26 safety assistants responsible for supporting approximately 10 inspectors each. This added administrative burden will likely slow down the inspection process, reducing the FAA’s oversight capabilities.
The same additional pressure will extend to certified technicians, according to Mann. With air traffic controllers already facing staffing challenges—averaging about three controllers for every technician—the strain on the already short-staffed FAA continues to grow. For years, federal officials have voiced concerns regarding the strain on the air traffic control system, leading to inadequacies in some major airports that previously maintained full-time technician coverage.
Spero cited a recent incident at Chicago O’Hare International Airport where a temporary radar outage resulted in a ground halt at O’Hare and nearby airports due to a lack of technicians to rectify the issue. Some of the laid-off employees were also involved in FAA projects supporting other agencies, including a classified radar system in Hawaii designed to detect missile threats, in collaboration with the Defense Department.
In the early days of his second administration, the current president has enacted extensive reforms, including dismissing career agency employees and halting substantial federal grant allocations, aiming to address waste and corruption within the federal government. Under the guidance of advisor Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, efforts continue to cut down government size.
This swift round of dismissals has startled some agency leaders, leading to swift opposition in certain cases where workers were instructed to return to their positions, like those within the National Nuclear Security Administration responsible for managing nuclear warheads.
Moving forward, Spero expressed hope for the reinstatement of the affected FAA personnel and suggested that the FAA should methodically examine the impacts of any future operational evaluations on aviation safety to avoid further disruption.
