Boyd Group International President and aviation expert Mike Boyd argues that there is a ‘major problem’ in the aviation industry on ‘Mornings with Maria.’
Hundreds of workers at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been laid off despite rising concerns about understaffing, as the Trump administration seeks to rein in federal spending.
David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said in a statement that several hundred probationary employees were notified Friday evening by messages from an “exec order” Microsoft email address, not an official government email address. The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists is the union that represents the employees.
“Troubled” by the decision, Spero expected more employees to be notified over the weekend and believes it’s possible that some may even be “barred from entering FAA buildings,” on Tuesday.
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“These are not nameless, faceless bureaucrats. They are our family, friends and neighbors. They contribute to our communities. Many military veterans are among them. It is shameful to toss aside dedicated public servants who have chosen to work on behalf of their fellow Americans,” he added.
The control tower at the Reagan National Airport. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the aviation safety organization in the U.S. that represents nearly 20,000 workers, said in a statement Monday that it was “analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members,” according to The Associated Press.
FOX Business reached out to the Trump administration for comment.
Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander posted on LinkedIn that he was among those who were fired, The Associated Press reported.
“My unlawful termination from my national security critical position with the National Defense Programs of the FAA – less than a week after DOGE got upset that I criticized Tesla and Twitter on my personal Facebook page – and on my personal time,” Spitzer-Stadtlander posted on the platform.
An air traffic control tower at Miami International Airport in Miami on May 9, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images)
He said that “the mass firings of hardworking Federal workers are unlawful” and that “retaliatory firings of national security critical workers and FAA air traffic control specialists are dangerous. We must make our voices heard. This is not okay.”
The firings come amid calls to ramp up staffing in the air traffic control system and weeks after a U.S. Army Black Hawk collided with an American Airlines regional jet on Jan. 29 in what was the deadliest U.S. air disaster in more than 20 years. Both aircraft fell into the Potomac River after the collision. Sixty-seven people were killed.
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The sun flares next to the sign marking the location of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) headquarters on Feb. 9, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (J. David Ake/Getty Images / Getty Images)
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association acknowledged the “chronic understaffing” of the air traffic control system earlier this month, saying that focusing on this issue as well as “modernizing the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure, would better serve the safety and reliability of the aviation system.”
The Trump administration already fired the head of the Transportation Security Administration and gutted the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, which advised on aviation security matters, including the development, refinement and implementation of policies, programs, rulemaking and security directives pertaining to aviation security.
The group was established in 1989 after a terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103.
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Shortly after his re-election, Trump also ordered the Transportation secretary and FAA administrator to immediately stop Biden-era diversity hiring programs and return to non-discriminatory, merit-based hiring.
