Feb 28, 2025
Firing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees is a different beast than firing paper-pushers at other federal agencies.
FAA employees are commonly tasked with ensuring air safety, and given a string of recent incidents that were all over the news, it seems like the Trump administration’s staff cuts come at a time when flyers are on edge.
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Confidence in air travel has dipped this year, according to a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It found the American public is most confident in the ability of pilots to maintain air safety and they have the least amount of confidence in federal government agencies.
More than 130 of the recent batch of FAA job cuts were positions that directly or indirectly supported air traffic control, facilities, and technology used to keep planes and passengers safe, according to the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists.
Now it's worth noting that as per Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, fewer than 400 people were let go at the FAA — an agency that employs 45,000 people. Duffy also noted that all terminated employees were probationary — meaning, they were hired less than a year prior to their dismissal — and no one with a “critical safety” position was fired.
But one recently terminated FAA employee told Politico they were a member of a team of 12 whose job is to create air maps — the preplanned routes that pilots and controllers use to guide airplanes. "Air traffic controllers cannot do their work without us," said the aeronautical information specialist. "Without our team ... pilots would quite literally be flying blind." It's not clear how many members of the team were laid off. They said workers were “targeted just as a senseless line item on an Excel sheet.”
"I do think the American public does need to be concerned, about not only my firing but also the firing of so many public safety [and] national security professionals at the FAA," said Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander, another fired FAA employee who was a part of an initiative established to detect incoming missiles, to People.
Your rights as a traveler
The dismissal of hundreds of FAA employees could lead to an uptick in flight delays and cancellations. And the fear is that it could increase the risk of accidents. So it's important to know your rights as a passenger in these situations.
The Department of Transportation says, "Airlines are required to adhere to the promises that they make in their customer service plan, including commitments to care for customers in the event of controllable delays or cancellations."
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It also says that if an airline cancels your flight or makes a significant change to its departure time, you're entitled to a refund should you choose not to get rebooked. This holds true even if you purchased a non-refundable ticket. But from there, the compensation you're entitled to depends on the airline you've booked with and the situation at hand.
Delta, for example, will give you a free hotel room if you're affected by an overnight cancellation. And you're entitled to a meal voucher for a delay of three hours or more. Your best bet is to consult this dashboard from the Department of Transportation, which covers the policies of 10 major U.S. airlines, to see what rights you have in the event of a cancellation or delay.
That said, as a passenger, you can always ask an airline to go above and beyond its typical policy. For example, if a flight delay causes you to miss an event that you paid for, you may be able to convince the airline to reimburse you for your tickets.
You should also know that you may be able to sue an airline if you sustain an injury during a flight due to their negligence. But for that, you'll generally need to consult an attorney. And compensation is awarded on a case-by-case basis.
Earlier in February, a Delta flight turned upside following a turbulent landing in Toronto. Two passengers have since sued the airline for negligence and are seeking compensation for their injuries — both physical and emotional.
Delta has already offered $30,000 in compensation to passengers on that flight, saying the money "has no strings attached and does not affect rights." Whether some individual passengers get more will depend on how their lawsuits shake out.
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Maurie Backman has been writing professionally for well over a decade. Since becoming a full-time writer, she's produced thousands of articles on topics ranging from Social Security to investing to real estate.
