More than 1,200 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly may leave the agency in the coming months, as the U.S. air transit system continues to struggle with flight delays, aviation accidents, and technical issues.
“Employees are departing the agency in mass quantities across all skill levels,” read a May 7 internal presentation about the effects of a Trump administration deferred-resignation program, obtained by The Wall Street Journal.
A similar presentation obtained by the paper said more than 1,200 employees of the agency could depart under the program.
The staff exodus under Trump could cause the agency to fall below its statutory and regulatory staffing requirements, one of the internal presentations said.
Front-line workers, including air-traffic controllers and airline inspectors, aren’t eligible for the resignation program.
The FAA told the Journal the impacts on staffing described in the presentations were theoretical.
The agency added that upcoming resignations and retirements amount to 3 percent of the FAA’s 46,000-person workforce and will not impact mission-critical functions.
The potential resignations are the latest challenge for the FAA, which has struggled with accidents and uncertainty under the new administration.
After a series of radar outages, software problems, flight delays, and a lack of air traffic controllers, officials reduced flights out of Newark Airport, a major hub for United and one of the busiest airports in the country.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has blamed the issues on the Biden administration and choices, such as the decision to relocate a key air traffic control station from Long Island to Philadelphia. At the same time, the secretary has also admitted more could’ve been done to shore up the air system during the pandemic years, including under Trump.
The FAA has also played host to Elon Musk’s at times chaotic cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency program.
Hundreds of probationary FAA employees were fired and then rehired in recent months.
Inside the FAA, a staffer from Musk’s space firm SpaceX reportedly threatened FAA employees if they opposed alleged efforts to integrate Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service into federal air infrastructure.
A series of aviation disasters have occurred since Trump took office, including a collision between a military helicopter and a passenger jet near Washington, but Duffy says it is a “falsehood” that these problems were rooted in changes that occurred since he took office.
The administration has sought billions from Congress to overhaul the air-traffic control system, and has boosted incentives for hiring and retaining controllers.
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