United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is hopeful on the Transportation (DoT) Secretary Sean Duffy for safeguarding jobs at the Federal Aviation Administration amid cuts within the federal government.
CEO Scott Kirby said "this is the most optimistic I've been in my entire career about finally getting the FAA fixed" as Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has called for increased investment amid major outages and delays at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Kirby’s praise comes after an event highlighting the Trump administration’s plans to update the United States’s air traffic control system. As per Kirby, Duffy is the “leading gold star” in navigating DOGE, noting how “caution tape” was placed around the FAA’s jobs for critical functions.
"I and others in the aviation industry have been working on this for decades, and I think we're finally– we've turned the corner, and we have the commitment," Kirby said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."
“And DOGE went and looked, and I think they took about 400 jobs out of over 100,000 jobs,” Kirby said on CBS News Sunday."
“Back office kinds of jobs, the kind of things that at any company, that anybody works at are routine, I think, and so at least at the Department of Transportation, I think they’ve done a very effective job of protecting that core safety operational workforce and putting the caution tape around them and really focusing how do we make the back office more efficient, as opposed to taking resources out of the front line.”
Air traffic control and aviation more broadly has been under the microscope in recent months, following January's deadly midair collision over Washington, D.C., several close calls and the more recent outages. And on Sunday, there was another 45-minute ground stop due to another equipment outage.
On Friday, 09 May, the second air traffic control outage in two weeks occurred at Newark Liberty International Airport, with air traffic controllers losing radar and the ability to communicate with some planes for up to 90 seconds in both instances. The second outage came as flight schedules were returning to normal following a series of delays and cancellations since the initial outage on April 28.
Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday “it is” safe to fly out of Newark airport, adding that flights will be scaled back at the airport in the interim while the issue is fixed.
While acknowledging the system is “old” and outdated, Duffy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” he believes the “glitch” will be fixed soon.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced plans Thursday to overhaul the air traffic control system by replacing the technology at sites across the country and building a number of new coordination centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the undertaking would cost "billions — lots of billions," while deferring to Congress on the final number.
Kirby said in an interview with CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O'Keefe of his optimism in the reforms to the Federal Aviation Administration that the commitment to overhauling the system is "across the board."
"It's bipartisan, it's bicameral," Kirby said. "Senate, House, administration, Secretary Duffy — across the board, a commitment to getting this fixed. We know how to do it."
The issue isn't new, with commitments to overhauling the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spanning back decades, and often enjoying bipartisan support.
But Kirby said what he believes makes this time different is the funding, saying the administration will ask for all the money up front, which "lets you plan the entire project and get the entire project done." And Kirby said the key players also make him optimistic, calling Duffy "action-oriented" and "committed to getting this done."
In the meantime, Kirby stressed that safety is the entire aviation industry's top priority, saying that "it absolutely is safe at Newark and in the entire country."
However, Kirby mentioned the existing extensive training and backup procedures within the aviation industry, saying "we have backups to backups to backups to keep the sky safe" amid outages.
"What happens is the pilots look for alternative frequencies," Kirby said. "They go to alternative centers with alternative radars, and they also have a system in the airplane where they can see, its equivalent of radar, they can see their position in the air, in the sky, and all the other aircraft around them."
The United Airlines CEO acknowledged that in the event of outages, the whole system is deliberately slowed down, which can be disruptive to customers, while it prioritizes safety. Kirby said United has proactively reduced the number of flights to create more space at the airport, while the FAA is working with other airlines to do the same.
"What happens when they're short staffed or there's a technology issue, they slow the airspace down," Kirby said. "It leads to customer impacts. We have to delay or cancel flights because there are more flights scheduled than can arrive. But it keeps the system safe, and that's absolutely what they should do."
Kirby added that the Department of Transportation is “doubling down” on addressing the air traffic controller workforce, which he said is down by about 30%. He said that Duffy and “the entire FAA” are committed to addressing this problem.
Recently, the Trump administration was praised for its attempt to modernize the U.S. air traffic control system by the parents of Sam Lilley, an American Airlines pilot who was killed in the Potomac plane crash earlier this year. The crash occurred just after Duffy was sworn in as the new transportation secretary.
On Sunday, Duffy detailed the steps he is implementing to address safety concerns in air travel, including increasing the mandatory retirement age for air traffic controllers from 56 to 61 and giving them a 20% upfront bonus to stay on the job.
Secretary Sean P. Duffy unveiled a plan to build a brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system that will be the envy of the world. By replacing the current, antiquated system, the FAA will enhance safety in the sky, reduce delays, and unlock the future of air travel.
This plan also ensures hard-working air traffic controllers have a system they can rely on and one they deserve.
“Under President Trump, America is building again. Today we are seizing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a brand new, state-of-the-art air traffic control system,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.
“Decades of neglect have left us with an outdated system that is showing its age. Building this new system is an economic and national security necessity, and the time to fix it is now. The unprecedented coalition of support we’ve assembled – from labor to industry – is indicative of just how important it is to this administration to get done what no one else could. The American people are counting on us, and we won’t let them down.”
The revamp plan is comprised of four infrastructure components:
Critical actions under the ambitious plan included:
