FAA Employee Firings Shake Up Air Travel As Trump Administration Targets Probationary Workers

The Trump administration has initiated the dismissal of several hundred Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, creating disruptions during a busy air travel weekend.

The layoffs came just weeks after a deadly midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a US Army Blackhawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy addressed the layoffs in a post on X late Monday, confirming that less than 400 workers out of the FAA's 45,000 employees had been let go.

Duffy, however, added that none of the dismissed employees were air traffic controllers or personnel critical to safety operations. The dismissals were mainly targeted at probationary workers, with notifications sent via late-night emails on Feb.14.

Duffy had shared the layoff numbers in a post on X, while responding to criticism from his Democratic predecessor, Pete Buttigieg, regarding the Trump administration's Department of Transportation.

David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, pointed out that the firings were communicated through an "exec order" Microsoft email address, and not an official .gov email address. Employees began receiving these emails after 7 p.m. ET, continuing well into the night.

Spero added that more employees might be informed of their termination over the coming days, with some potentially denied entry to FAA buildings by Tuesday.

The firings also impacted workers involved in various FAA programs, including an urgent and classified radar system designed to detect incoming cruise missiles. This program, announced by the Air Force in 2023, is part of a broader initiative funded in part by the Defense Department to enhance radar capabilities for long-range detection along the U.S. borders, reported AP.

A Transportation Department official stated Monday that the agency retained employees performing critical safety functions. When asked about the radar, landing, and navigational aid workers affected, the agency said they would investigate whether those positions were considered critical.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association also issued a statement, saying they were analyzing the impact of the employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system, and their members.

Meanwhile, Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell, from the Senate Commerce Committee, condemned the Trump administration's move to fire FAA employees, especially those responsible for inspecting and maintaining critical air traffic control systems, given the recent history of fatal crashes involving U.S. airliners.

Lack of transparency

Both the FAA and the Department of Transportation have remained tight-lipped about which positions were affected by the firings or the reasons behind the decisions. The disclosure of the firings coincided with a visit from Elon Musk's government downsizing team, DOGE, to the FAA's Air Traffic Control command center in Warrenton, Virginia, as noted by Duffy, Reuters reported.

The Trump administration's workforce reductions follow an earlier offer for air traffic controllers to accept buyouts. However, the administration later clarified that these controllers were not eligible for the offers, along with other safety personnel, including Transportation Security Administration officers.

Staff crisis at FAA

The FAA is currently short of nearly 3,500 air traffic controllers from its target staffing levels, raising concerns about an overstretched system. Officials have pointed to factors like uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intense training, and mandatory retirements as causes for the staffing crisis.

The issue has become more pressing after several close calls between planes at U.S. airports.

In the Jan. 29 fatal crash between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet, one controller was managing both commercial and helicopter traffic at a busy airport.

Just days before the collision, President Donald Trump had dismissed all members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a group formed after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing. The committee was responsible for reviewing safety issues at airlines and airports.

Efforts to overhaul the system

In his post, Duffy indicated that the administration intends to overhaul what he described as "our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system."