New FAA firings bring fears of aviation safety into the spotlight

In the past month, there have been two high-profile plane crashes that have stoked a new fear of flying into the minds of millions of people in the public.

From the deadly mid-air collision over the Potomac in late January, to the recent flipping over of a Delta CRJ-900 on landing in Toronto, aviation safety is in the spotlight now more than ever.

Yet despite this, US President Donald Trump has begun firing probationary employees working at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

'Indiscriminate' firings

Some may believe that the firing of probationary FAA employees won't have an effect on safety in the industry due to the policies and procedures already in place.

However, Robert Weissman, Co-President of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, thinks otherwise. In a statement to ABC News 4, he said the following about the layoffs:

“One thing we are seeing with these firings across the government is that they are indiscriminate. There’s some preset level and people are just being let go. It’s not looking at what individuals are doing, it’s not really assessing where there’s need or lesser need...And when you do that kind of bludgeon force to the federal workforce, you are gonna have problems. And when you do it to the FAA, you’re just making flying less safe, there’s no way around it.”

Organizations such as Public Citizen are suing hard to prevent the Trump administration from fulfilling its policy objective.

People like Weissman believe that Congress should be providing more oversight over what is happening in government organizations such as the FAA that are vital to public safety, regardless of whether it's in the air or not.

Despite the layoffs at FAA offices, last week Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport reopened its runways just two weeks after the worst commercial plane crash on US soil in 16 years.

Last Thursday, the arrival rate of aircraft into the airport was increased to 28 per hour.

An uncertain future

Laying off hundreds of probationary FAA employees may look good in the short term for the government's checkbook. However, many critics of the Trump administration's actions have pointed out that the decision will come back to bite US aviation in the future.

They argue that firing so many people who are essentially employees in training will mean that when employees in essential FAA jobs such as Air Traffic Controllers and safety experts begin to retire, this will leave roles critical to the nation's aviation safety unfilled. After all, it takes time for air traffic controllers to go through training and for people in aviation safety job roles to gain experience.

This could in turn lead to more flight delays in the future due to ATC staffing, and could result in current employees pushing back their retirements to continue serving in roles that could go unfilled.

However, this argument is negated by the fact that the Trump administration's hiring freeze exempted air traffic controllers and those in other essential positions within the FAA.

This was confirmed by the organization in a statement to the BBC earlier this week, which explained that:

"The FAA continues to hire and onboard air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics and others who support them."

Aviation is still safe

Despite what it may feel like with the recent high-profile aviation incidents and crashe, aviation is still incredibly safe. Indeed, the fact that you have a higher chance of getting into a car crash on your way to the airport than experiencing a crash while on a flight still stands.

The most recent incident, that of Delta Air Lines Flight 4819 , resulted in just 21 people being injured with no fatalities.

This stands as a testament to the safety procedures currently in place that act as safeguards during crashes and emergencies should other preventative measures fail.