Washington, DC (CNN) â� For decades, US officials liked to say the nationâs aviation system was the âgold standardâ� for safety. A House hearing on Tuesday cast doubt on that assertion.
At the hearing, on problems with the nationâs air traffic control system, lawmakers pressed aviation organizations on aging infrastructure, chronic air traffic controller staffing shortages and what they called a broken hiring process.
Rep. Troy Nehls, chairman of the subcommittee on aviation, pointed out that 105 of the Federal Aviation Administrationâs 138 systems are unsustainable or potentially unsustainable.
âFor a country that considers itself the gold standard in aviation safety, these numbers are unacceptable, and we must do better,â� Nehls, a Texas Republican, said in opening remarks. âWhile itâs easy to lay blame at the feet of the FAA, and their project management is certainly not blameless, we also have to look at our own shortfalls.â�
The questioning comes following a string of US aviation incidents, like the deadly near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC, on January 29 and other throughout the country. Relatives of those who died in the January collision were in the audience on Tuesday. Air traffic controlâs role in the incidents will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
During the hearing, air traffic control experts and officials were asked what Congress can do.
âWe are not the gold standard in aviation anymore,â� testified Paul Rinaldi, who spent 30 years with the FAA â� half as an air traffic controller. He previously led the air traffic controllers union. âWe are not even on the worldâs podium.â�
Last week, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rolled out a new plan to âsuperchargeâ� the FAAâs hiring process for air traffic controllers â� including a 30% pay bump and streamlining the process.
FAA cuts
Democrats questioned the decision of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to some FAA employees.
Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, called Musk a âco-president,â� a reference to the tech figureâs growing role in US government. DOGE has pushed to shrink the federal workforce with throughout agencies.
âI am stunned that co-Presidents Musk and Trump are firing over 500 FAA employees, including those maintaining radar systems and landing equipment, when aviation safety is already at risk,â� Johnson said.
After the firings, Duffy posted on social media that âless than 400 (employees) were let goâ� â� all of which were probationary, none of which were critical safety personnel or air traffic controllers, he said.
Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen, the top Democrat in the House aviation subcommittee, called the firings at the FAA âdangerous and unjustified.â�
âThese firings have consequences,â� Cohen said. âThere are some who think we should hand over the FAA to a billionaire whoâs made so many mistakes in this DOGE program, and he showed he is imperfect, more often than not.â�
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union across the nation, has warned about staffing shortages for .
Musk said Verizonâs efforts to upgrade the FAAâs air traffic control system were failing and pushed for Starlink â� a unit of his satellite and rocket company â� to take over.
âAmericans are deeply troubled and concerned about how our aviation safety is being compromised by co-President Elon Muskâs glaring conflict of interest,â� Johnson added.
Stress for air traffic controllers
The stress of the and DOGEâs focus on government workers were talking points among lawmakers on Tuesday. Employees are fielding âaccusationsâ� and ânegative comments,â� said Dave Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, which represents 11,000 FAA and Department of Defense employees.
These staff reductions add to concerns for air traffic controllers, who already face stress and pressure while on the job. Spero said three of the 132 employees his union represents were recalled following the firings. He said these employeesâ� skillset were needed or it would start a backlog.
âAs they begin to pull people out of their positions and we all have to take on more responsibilities every single day, folks wonder how this is going to play out,â� Spero said.
âAir traffic controllers deal and have to manage with stress, day in and day out. Anything that adds to that, any uncertainty, is what brings an added risk that has to be evaluated into the system,â� added Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Nehls also said it was âridiculousâ� to have limits for air traffic controllers. Applicants must be younger than 31 years old and retire by 56 years old. This, he argued, limits the pool of talent.
âI think itâs age discrimination in many, many ways, and I donât understand why we have it,â� Nehls said.
Duffy has supported changing the retirement age.
But Daniels said changing the requirements would not have any immediate impact on the staffing shortage.
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