The Trump administration has begun dismissing hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, disrupting air travel during a busy weekend. This move comes just weeks after the fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The notifications continued into the night, and more staff could be anticipated to get fired over the long weekend or even prevented from entering FAA buildings from Tuesday.
These firings were focused on probationary staff, with employees receiving emails late on Friday informing them of their dismissal, said David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union.
The affected workers include those working with FAA radar, landing, and navigational aid maintenance as per AP.
Spero stated that the lay off happened “without cause nor based on performance or conduct.” The termination mails were sent from an 'exec order' Microsoft email address rather than a government address.
Struggle with understaffingThese layoffs come as the FAA struggles with a staffing shortage, specifically among air traffic controllers. Federal officials have been raising concerns about the strained and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially following a series of close calls between aircraft at US airports.
These staffing issues have been attributed to factors like low pay, long working hours, intense training and mandatory retirements. The news of the firings was first reported by CNN.
During the tragic crash on January 29 between a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet, both commercial airline and helicopter traffic were managed by a single controller at the busy airport.
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