The Trump administration has hundreds of people in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including some who maintain critical air traffic control infrastructure despite four fatal crashes since inauguration day. Employees have begun to be fired.
According to the Professional Aviation Safety Experts (PASS) union, “hundreds” workers received notification of fire on Friday.
Many of the workers are probation workers, employed in less than a year, and lacking job protection makes them low fruit due to the Trump administration's efforts to streamline.
The federal government has around 200,000 probation employees, according to the U.S. Personnel Management Office.
The FAA fire did not include air traffic controllers, but it appeared to include engineers and technicians.
A spokesperson for the union said the probationary technician has not been fired, citing about 133 job cuts so far.
The finished positions included maintenance mechanics, aviation information specialists, environmental protection specialists, aviation safety assistants and management personnel, but also airway transport systems specialists who maintain and certify air traffic management equipment. It wasn't there.
Former FAA Air Traffic Controller Dylan Sullivan claimed that the agency official, which ended on social media, will “maintain all the equipment flying safely, from radar to ILS to ATC automation.”
Job cuts in the FAA can raise concerns. Agents have struggled to recruit air traffic controllers in recent years. The increase in recruitment during the previous two management was hampered by budget cuts, with limited training and certification.
The move also comes within three weeks of an airborne collision through Washington, DC and an Army helicopter that killed 67 people. Initial reports suggest that in the busy airspace that was infamous at the time of the collision, there was only one air traffic controller working with both civil and military aviation aircraft.
Seven people have since been killed when a plane crashed near Philadelphia. Ten people died when another crash fell in Alaska. And one person died when the landing gear of a private plane belonging to Metory Crew singer Vince Neil landed and failed when it hit another parked aircraft.
On Monday, a Delta aircraft was turned over as it arrived at Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada, and 80 people boarded. Early reports suggest that everything survived.
Pass Union, representing Department of Defense workers who install, inspect and maintain more than 11,000 FAA and air traffic control systems, was posted on its website. Regarding public safety, otherwise it's dangerous. ”
David Spero, National President of PASS, said in X, the fired employee: “They are our family, our friends, our neighbors. Many are veterans. It's shameful to abandon our dedicated civil servants.”
Spero added that the move is “particularly merciless in the aftermath of three fatal aircraft accidents over the past month.”
Sign up for This week at Trumpland
A deep dive into the policies, controversy and eccentricity surrounding the Trump administration
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising, and content funded by external parties. For more information, please refer to our Privacy Policy. We use Google Recaptcha to protect our website and the application of Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
After the newsletter promotion
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said at X “we spoke with the Doge (the “Government Efficiency Division”) team” and “they will plug in to upgrade their aviation systems.” Aviation experts have long pointed to the outdated air traffic control systems that the FAA uses as a source of concern.
Elon Musk of Doge Head later reposted Duffy, saying his department “sought to increase the speedy safety of the air traffic control system.”
Doge targets probation employees have little reliance on employment courts.
It was reported on Sunday that some probation employees of the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) were let go and have since revived. The Ministry of Energy later said fewer than 50 people were removed from “mainly administrative and administrative roles.”
Federal News Network, a federal media outlet, said it has obtained a letter of fire for an employee of the Department of Agriculture.
“Until the probation period is completed, the probationer has the burden of showing why it is in the public interest for the government to finalize the appointment of this particular individual to a civil servant.” The agency has found that based on your performance, you have not demonstrated that further employment at the agency will be in the public interest. For this reason, the agency will let you know that the agency is removing you from your position. ”
Sullivan, a former FAA air traffic controller, said in a social media post: Thirty years after starting a controller career, there was no surplus of engineers or engineers.
“If aviation safety infrastructure is compromised, it will take decades to get it back. The money will not be saved and the lives may be lost.”
