The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) union says 133 of its members at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have just been fired following a review of the agency by the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). They include aeronautical information managers, who update domestic and international information about the whole aviation environment, including routes, charts, procedures and flight paths, and maintenance mechanics, who maintain air traffic control facilities.

Others sacked include aviation safety assistants, who maintain office records, and environmental protection specialists, who evaluate environmental impacts, ensure compliance with environmental requirements and monitor environmental protection plans. The latter are believed to be particularly threatened by DOGE.

In the case of the FAA, Elon Musk, appointed by president Trump as head of the DOGE, is responsible for finding areas where he believes efficiency can be improved or costs cut, and for reporting these to the Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Duffy has since commented, in response to the PASS report on dismissals, that the FAA employs 45,000 people, and those few dismissed were all staff on probation.

As for the acknowledged long-term shortage of air traffic controllers, he blames this on his predecessor at the DoT, Pete Buttigieg, whom Duffy also blamed for doing nothing about “our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system”. Finally, he alleges that the FAA’s budget is being used as “a slush fund for the green new scam and environmental justice nonsense”.

Duffy did not mention any remedies for President Donald Trump’s publicly stated theory as to why a mid-air collision recently took place over the Potomac River.