Layoffs hit FAA, including employees tasked with producing air traffic navigation maps

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: ABC News

February 21, 2025, 5:40 PM


The Trump administration's mass layoffs across federal agencies have hit the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has terminated over 100 probationary employees. That includes some of those who work on the team responsible for producing air traffic navigation maps, multiple sources told ABC News.

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), which represents over 11,000 FAA employees, said 132 probationary employees were terminated. "We believe all of these employees are critical not only to the frontline safety workers, but to the entire aviation ecosystem," PASS National President Dave Spero told ABC News in a statement.

The FAA and the U.S. Department of Transportation have insisted no critical employees were let go. Overall, the FAA employees about 45,000 people.

Some of the employees impacted were part of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization (ATO) en route charting group, which is responsible for maintaining and updating Enroute Navigation Charts used in the National Airspace System and by air traffic controllers around the country, sources told ABC News. Those terminations were communicated via email early Saturday morning.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/layoffs-hit-faa-including-employees-tasked-producing-air/story?id=119060253

[Historic NY]

1. Tell Trump these are the people that put the Gulf of America on maps.

[Lonestarblue]

2. I'm glad I don't have to fly anywhere soon, although flying now is probably safer than in a few months.

Fortunately we have generally safe aircraft and experienced pilots and FAA staff. My worry is that as these experienced FAA staff either retire or get fed up and quit because of understaffing, they will be replaced by Trump’s affirmative action program for unqualified white men. No female or minority will be hired no matter how much experience they have. Training for air traffic controllers will now be reserved solely for white men, who are likely to be selected simply because they’re white and not on education or qualities needed for the job. Air traffic control is a tough, stressful job. Not everyone is suited intellectually, mentally, and emotionally to do it. That’s why I worry that flying will get less and less safe here.

[raccoon]

3. I don't plan on flying anywhere anytime soon, but I suggest if you do make sure your will is in order.

[kimbutgar]

4. Between this and the soon to be growing anti American sentiment I won't be traveling internationally nor have any desire

To get on an airplane until this FAA is restored to fully functioning and all the employees are hired back.

And I feel bad because my spouse works for a major airline carrier that he is planning on retiring in June but now he doesn’t know if he’ll even get Medicare. I got my healthcare as his spouse. And I’m also going to possibly lose my healthcare also if I can’t get on Medicare if it’s gone because of the chainsaw massacre to our government agencies.