Concerns over aviation safety have increased, following a series of deadly crashes, as both lawmakers and union leaders now appeal directly to the president to stop any more job reductions at the transportation department.
There is growing pressure on the Trump administration to prevent additional staff cuts at the Federal Aviation Administration, especially after hundreds of employees were dismissed over the weekend.
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The affected workers were part of a broader government overhaul led by Elon Musk, who has been tasked with cutting down federal expenses. His influence has reached multiple agencies, including the Department of Transportation, where staff reductions have taken place.
While Elon Musk’s team continues to lead mass dismissals across several sectors, Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy has also turned to Mr. Musk for help in dealing with outdated air traffic control systems.
Despite the ongoing cuts, Mr. Duffy seems to believe that Mr. Musk, given his experience in technology and transportation, could support the department’s modernization goals.
Aviation Tragedies Heighten Pressure
These job losses have come during a tense period for the FAA, especially after multiple fatal crashes. One of the most recent involved a midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines aircraft, which resulted in 67 deaths on January 27.
The timing of the layoffs, paired with public concern over safety, has placed the department under intense scrutiny. About 400 employees who had worked at the FAA for less than one year were included in the cut, as confirmed by Secretary Duffy on social media.
He responded to remarks made by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and clarified that none of the dismissed employees were air traffic controllers or vital safety staff.
According to a formal statement from the Transportation Department, hiring and training efforts for air traffic controllers and aviation safety personnel are still ongoing. But unions argue that some of the laid-off employees had roles that were vital to maintaining operational support and workflow.
Union Reaction and Safety Concerns
Among those affected were nearly 300 employees who belonged to the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union. Following the terminations, union president Dave Spero joined Senator Richard Blumenthal in urging the administration to put a stop to additional job losses at the agency.
Termination notices given to affected workers stated that they were being released because their job performance did not align with the public interest, according to internal emails. Mr. Spero disagreed strongly with that conclusion.
Although the firings did not involve direct safety inspectors or air traffic controllers, he stressed that the roles cut included vital support and administrative staff who are essential to the daily operations of aviation safety.
Maintenance technicians and safety assistants were among those let go, Spero added. He pointed out that these workers may not have held front-line safety positions, but their absence would still affect how smoothly others perform their duties.
“The ones who left were not the people controlling flights, but without them, the rest of us can’t carry out our responsibilities properly,” he explained.
Lawmaker Demands Reinstatement
Senator Blumenthal sent an official letter to Secretary Duffy requesting that the dismissed employees be reinstated. He warned that the decision could put air travel safety at greater risk.
“Aviation events in recent weeks have deeply damaged public trust in the agencies responsible for keeping skies safe, including the FAA and the Department of Transportation,” Blumenthal wrote.
Concerns in the aviation sector increased even more when employees from Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, visited FAA facilities. Their visit to the agency’s air-traffic command center in Warrenton, Virginia, and another nearby office that manages air traffic around the nation’s capital created more questions.
The Department of Government Efficiency, the unit representing Musk’s interests, did not issue any public comment regarding the visit when contacted. Mr. Duffy later clarified in a social media post that the SpaceX team was only present to learn more about the technical challenges involved in managing air traffic.
“The president wants Americans to fly safely using modern systems,” Mr. Duffy wrote. “He directed me to build a new air traffic control network that other countries would admire, and I plan to do that with the help of America’s brightest minds.”
