Airline Unions Warn Lawmakers That FAA Safety Concerns Persist

Airline industry leaders, detailing safety threats to passengers from Federal Aviation Administration staffing shortages, called on lawmakers to oppose cuts to government transportation workers.

“The staffing cuts, disruptions and distractions to the safety work of those who maintain and enforce the standards of our aviation system is simply unacceptable,” Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, testified Wednesday at a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing.

Heads of aircraft, pilot and flight attendant associations fielded questions from lawmakers on the status of American aviation at the hearing on the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act. The day before, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA is seeking a company to lead construction of a “brand new, state-of-the-art” air traffic control system. Scrutiny of air safety in the US has ramped up in the wake of recent mishaps including the air disaster near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in January that left no survivors.

Staffing is a big issue, though problems didn’t begin in the last six months, Captain Jody Reven, president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, told lawmakers at the Wednesday hearing.

“Every commercial flight is an orchestrated event between air traffic control, the pilots, ground operation, flight attendants,” Reven said. “Manning continues to be a concern for us.”

The Trump administration has taken measures to remedy safety concerns such as allocating $13.8 billion to hire more air traffic controllers in a budget proposal last month and paying bonuses. However, these follow cuts at the FAA including the firing of hundreds of probationary employees in February.

The Department of Transportation last month paused planned reductions to its wider workforce after Duffy told employees to expect layoffs by the end of May.