The initial days of President Donald Trump's second term in office have been highlighted by many things, but perhaps none more important than controversial government layoffs.
Those job cuts extend to the already fraught aviation sector, including hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) workers amid a well-documented staff shortage at the nation's air traffic control (ATC) towers.
The timing couldn't be worse.
The past three weeks have seen multiple aviation disasters involving U.S. airlines and aircraft that have only shaken the public confidence in air travel.
Last month's deadly mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army Black Hawk helicopter outside of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft and the Presidents' Day holiday saw a Delta Connection flight overturn during a crash-landing in Toronto. Fortunately, everyone survived.
According to new data from personal injury law firm Amanda Demanda, Google searches for "Are planes safe now?" are up a whopping 900 percent in the past week while searches for "airplane crash" have skyrocketed by 1,150 percent.
Additionally, searches for "Is it safe to fly in the US right now" and "How safe is it to fly right now" have jumped 950 percent and 250 percent, respectively.
"Recent aviation incidents, including the tragic mid-air collision in Washington, D.C., and the terrifying Delta Air Lines emergency landing—both occurring within days of each other—have understandably raised significant concerns regarding the safety of air travel. Notably, this has resulted in a dramatic 900 percent increase in Google searches for “Are planes safe right now?” over the past week alone, highlighting how even rare and isolated incidents can profoundly influence public perception and confidence in the aviation industry."
Delta Air Lines plane (Photo Credit: Eric Bowman)
During a floor speech regarding aviation safety on Thursday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) downplayed the fact that new U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that only 400 out of 45,000 FAA employees were let go and only probationary.
"We're seeing an administration that is being, in my mind, thoughtless to the incidents that we have now seen in aviation, and saying it's okay to cut people at the FAA. I disagree," said Cantwell.
"The administration has said that it's no big deal because it's 1 percent of the workforce. These people that got fired are not just a bunch of junior hires, no—one news report stated that ‘more than 130 of those eliminated held jobs directly or indirectly support the air traffic controllers. They support the facilities and the technologies they use to keep the planes and their passengers safe,’ end quote."
Disabled U.S. Army veteran and former FAA employee Jason King was fired amid the layoffs and told DC News Now that the decision was "frustrating."
"My actual role in the FAA was the executive assistant and I provided direct support to the Directorate of Safety himself," said King. "While I was there the coworkers that I had were already stressed out about budget cuts, resources that needed to be implemented, not having enough money and now the lack of support that is also there is just overwhelming."
While air travel remains the safest mode of transportation statistically despite recent incidents the current political climate will no doubt ensure it remains a topic of conversation for some time to come.
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