PROVIDENCE, RI -- Hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees are in the process of being fired -- not because of their performance or because they weren’t delivering critical services for taxpayers -- but as part of the Trump Administration’s and billionaire Elon Musk’s partisan mass terminations of federal workers.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees FAA funding, says FAA staffing decisions should be based on the agency’s mission-critical needs, not partisan whims. 

Senator Reed says Trump’s shortsighted mass-firing of new FAA employees will have a ripple effect, leading to understaffing at the FAA now and in the future, which could then cause airports to slow down air traffic to match staffing levels.

“Our air traffic control system is already overtaxed and firing these dedicated FAA professionals will make it harder to keep the traveling public safe.  There should be an FAA hiring push right now, not a mass-firing purge.  FAA staffing shortages can have a detrimental impact on air travel and operations.  Understaffing in control towers leads to more planes on the ground and flight delays.  Every member of Congress should be calling on President Trump and Elon Musk to strengthen, not weaken the FAA’s workforce,” said Reed. 

Air traffic controllers at the nation’s 313 air traffic control locations across the country help safeguard more than 45,000 flights and 2.9 million airline passengers nationwide per day.

The Trump administration has begun firing hundreds of the FAA’s most recent hirees -- known as ‘probationary workers’ during their first year or two of public service -- who were sent termination emails over the weekend and could be barred from entering their FAA job sites on Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, the impacted workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance.  Many of these workers are veterans, as the FAA continuously recruits employees with prior air traffic experience from the military and private industry.  

The Trump Administration’s FAA purge comes after he fired all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel mandated by Congress that is charged with examining safety issues at airlines and airports around the country.

Air traffic control is one of the most specialized and skilled professions in the federal government. Air traffic controllers work in towers at airports and radar rooms at FAA facilities nationwide. Their job is to separate planes, navigate them through weather, and ensure that everyone reaches their respective destinations safely.