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Former Federal Aviation Administration employees have warned that the recent job cuts by the Trump administration will only create more safety risks – despite administration assurances the skies are safe.
Against the backdrop of three fatal U.S. air disasters in the last month, Transport Secretary Sean Duffy has said that none of the 400 FAA staff let go last week were air traffic controllers or critical safety personnel. However, industry experts disagree.
Workers let go included more than 130 in roles that were “critical” to the safety of the aviation ecosystem, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union told The Independent.
The 132 probationary roles supported air traffic controllers, technology and systems that the FAA uses to keep aircraft and passengers safe, including evaluating flight paths, according to the union.
“I would argue that every job at the FAA right now is safety critical,” aviation safety consultant Jeff Guzzetti told Politico.
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Guzzetti, who has worked at the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, told the outlet that the cuts “certainly [are] not going to improve safety — it can only increase the risk.”
The Department of Transportation said it has retained employees who perform safety-critical roles in a statement to The Independent.
One FAA staffer let go last week was an aeronautical information specialist just outside of Washington, D.C., whose job is to evaluate and prepare navigation maps, routes and flight paths, including helicopters around major airports.
“They may not be touching air traffic control equipment, but their work is critical to the aviation ecosystem,” an air-traffic workers’ union spokesperson told The Independent.
The fired staffer, who was on a team of 12, told Politico that without them, “pilots would quite literally be flying blind.”
“Air traffic controllers cannot do their work without us,” the employee, who remained anonymous, told the outlet.
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The staffer claimed that the Trump administration’s firings indicated a lack of understanding of how essential the roles are in terms of passenger safety. Instead, they said, staff were “targeted just as a senseless line item on an Excel sheet.”
In response, a department spokesperson said in a statement that the FAA “continues to hire and onboard air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics and others who support them.”
“The agency has retained employees who perform safety critical functions,” the spokesperson added.
The union said that the firings were “draconian action” that would increase the workload of a workforce “already stretched thin.”
Other roles of the 132 let go included maintenance mechanics who maintain and repair the grounds and buildings where controllers and technicians work, and aviation safety assistants. “If these positions don’t exist then controllers, aviation safety inspectors, and technicians would have to perform all of these duties and this would distract from other responsibilities that may be considered more directly related to safety of the flying public,” union officials told The Independent.
“Staffing decisions should be based on an individual agency’s mission-critical needs,” the union added in a statement. “To do otherwise is dangerous when it comes to public safety.”
