Hundreds of employees of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been dismissed just weeks after a deadly plane crash in Washington, DC. The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) union has condemned the move, calling it “shameful.”
“We are troubled and disappointed by the administration’s decision to fire FAA probationary employees PASS represents without cause nor based on performance or conduct,” the PASS union said in a statement on Saturday.
The layoffs appear to be part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, aimed at reducing the federal workforce on behalf of the Trump administration. Between 300 and 400 FAA probationary workers, most of whom had been in their roles for less than a year, received termination notices by mail over the past few days.
America deserves safe, state-of-the-art air travel, and President Trump has ordered that I deliver a new, world-class air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 17, 2025
To do that, I need advice from the brightest minds in America.
I’m asking for help from any…
“Several hundred employees have been impacted with messages being sent from an ‘exec order’ Microsoft email address, not an official .gov email address. Messages began arriving after 7:00 pm ET on 14 February and continued late into the night. It is possible that others will be notified over the weekend or literally barred from entering FAA buildings on Tuesday 18 February,” the union explained.
Those dismissed include systems specialists, safety inspectors, maintenance mechanics, and administrative staff, all of whom play essential roles in ensuring aviation safety.
A disabled veteran and former FAA employee was just laid off by the Trump administration. Now he’s sharing his concerns.
— Alexis Wainwright (@AWainwrightTV) February 16, 2025
“The FAA is really already understaffed as it is. To cut people directly involved with safety, it’s concerning for public safety in our national airspace.” pic.twitter.com/2sy6Mtamcq
“It is shameful to discard dedicated public servants who have chosen to work on behalf of their fellow Americans. These employees were committed to their jobs and the FAA’s safety-critical mission. This draconian action will increase workloads and place new responsibilities on a workforce that is already stretched thin. The decision was made without considering the FAA’s staffing needs, which are already challenged by understaffing,” the union continued.
According to Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, the FAA is already short of 800 technicians. She stated on Monday that the dismissals will introduce unnecessary risks into the airspace. Furthermore, the FAA remains approximately 3,500 controllers short of its targeted staffing levels, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has defended the measure on X. “Less than 400 were let go, and they were all probationary, meaning they had been hired less than a year ago. Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go,” he wrote.
Mayor Pete failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system. In less than four weeks, we have already begun the process and are engaging the smartest minds in the entire world.
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 18, 2025
Here’s the… https://t.co/LCL1dswC2T
The news of the layoffs comes just weeks after a mid-air collision between a passenger jet and a Black Hawk military helicopter on 29 January in Washington, DC, which resulted in 67 fatalities. The National Transportation Safety Board has not yet determined the cause of the collision. However, reports suggest that staffing levels in air traffic control at the airport were low on the night of the incident.
President Trump was quick to suggest that diversity programmes had lowered hiring standards and may have contributed to the crash — a statement that sparked significant controversy.
