Washington (AP) – The Trump administration began to fire several hundred employees of the Federal Aviation Administration, upsetting the staff of a plane travel weekend and barely a few weeks after a deadly open -air collision At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Probation workers were targeted in emails at the end of the evening on Friday, informing that they had been dismissed, said David Spero, president of the professional air security union, in a statement.
The affected workers include staff hired for FAA radar, landing and maintenance of navigation aid, an air traffic controller at the Associated Press. The air traffic controller was not allowed to speak to the media and spoke under the cover of anonymity.
Spero said the messages had started to arrive after 7 p.m. Friday and continued late at night. He could be informed more during the long weekend or to enter FAA buildings on Tuesday, he said.
The employees were dismissed “without reason or on the basis of performance or driving,” said Spero, and the emails came from an email address “Exec Order” Microsoft “-not an E- address government email.
The shots hit the FAA when it faces a deficit in the controllers. Federal officials have raised concerns Regarding an over-rich and sub-employed air traffic control system for years, in particular after a series of close calls between the planes of American airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staff shortages, there are non -competitive wages, long changes, intensive training and compulsory pensions.
In the fatal crash of January 29 between a US Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Passenger Jet, which is still the subject of an investigation, a controller delivering Trafficking in commercial airlines and helicopters at the very busy airport.
A few days before the collision, President Donald Trump had already drawn all members From the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel mandated by the congress after the Bombing of Panam 103 of 1988 on Lockerbie, Scotland. The committee is accused of examining security problems in airlines and airports.
An FAA employee who was dismissed over the weekend suggested that he had been targeted for his opinions on Tesla and X, formerly Twitter, and not as part of a general scanning of probationary level. The two belong to Elon Musk, who directs President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the federal government.
Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander Posted on LinkedIn that he was dismissed just after midnight on Saturday, a few days after starting to harass messages on Facebook.
“The official Facebook page Doge started to harass me on my personal Facebook account after criticizing Tesla and Twitter,” wrote Spitzer-Stadlander. “Less than a week later, I was dismissed, despite my post which would have been exempt due to national security.”
He added: “When Dogi dismissed me, they turned off my computer and wiped all my files without warning.”
Spitzer-Stadtlander said he was supposed to be exempt from probationary layoffs because the FAA office in which he worked on national security threats such as attacks against national airspace by drones.
The Ministry of Effectiveness of the Government led by muscles did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
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The writer of the Associated Press Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to Washington.
