Aviation Safety At Risk Amid DOGE Cuts And Shutdown Fears, Industry Leaders Tell Congress (March 2025)
www.forbes.com

... Staffing cuts and uncertainty over a potential federal government shutdown later this month is putting further pressure on the already-strained U.S. air traffic system, aviation leaders warned Tuesday during a Congressional hearing on bolstering the beleaguered U.S. Air Traffic Control system. ...

Key Facts

Aviation leaders criticized DOGE for firing approximately 400 Federal Aviation Administration employees in mid-February, telling the hearing that a potential government shutdown in mid-March could threaten the country's aviation safety.

"Haphazardly eliminating positions and encouraging resignations are having a demoralizing effect on the workforce," testified David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, which represents 132 terminated FAA workers who installed, maintained, and certified air traffic control and national defense equipment.

Spero added "no assessment had been done" before the firings to determine their impact on aviation safety.

Although air traffic controllers were exempted from DOGE firings, additional pressures on them puts them in a "very vulnerable position and as risk to the system," Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, testified.

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy announced a "hiring supercharge" for air traffic controllers last week, but Nicholas Calio, CEO of lobby group Airlines for America, said: "It's not going to be enough. The numbers don't add up."

Daniels pushed back on Elon Musk's call last Thursday for retired air traffic controllers to return to work, pointing out that ATCs who were hired back would have to repeat the training process and would potentially bottleneck the training of younger controllers "that we need to actually invest in and sustain the system going forward."

DOGE did not respond immediately to Forbes' request for comment. ...