A union representing aviation safety personnel is currently assessing the impact of recent layoffs affecting employees of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This comes just weeks after the country experienced its most severe civil aviation incident in over a decade. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) stated that it is analyzing how the dismissals of federal employees may affect aviation safety, the national airspace system, and its union members. NATCA represents air traffic controllers, engineers, and other aviation safety professionals.
According to another union representing federal employees in the aviation sector, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), hundreds of FAA employees who were in their one-year probationary period began receiving layoff notices after 7 PM New York time last Friday. Affected employees include engineers, aircraft certification experts, employee support specialists, and aviation technical systems specialists from NATCA Region X. However, NATCA has not received any reports of air traffic controllers being laid off.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation stated on Monday that the FAA has retained employees performing "safety-critical functions" and will continue to employ air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics, to support them.
