Statement of FAA Inspectors and Systems Specialists Regarding Furloughs

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Mike Perrone, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, which represents over 11,000 employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), released the following statement regarding furloughs set to begin Sunday as a result of sequestration.

"On Sunday, the furloughing of nearly 47,000 FAA employees, including aviation safety inspectors and systems specialists, will begin. We are extremely disappointed that this is the chosen route of budget savings for the agency."

"The cuts will result in one less day for aviation safety inspectors to conduct inspections as well as restrictions on travel to perform surveillance, resulting in less oversight of air carriers and operators. Certifications of new technologies will be halted, with manufacturing inspectors focusing entirely on existing certifications, leading to the industry suffering economic losses. In addition, systems specialists, who ensure the safety, reliability and integrity of every single piece of equipment that pilots and controllers depend on to safely navigate the airspace, will not be able to perform some critical maintenance on systems, which will no doubt result in longer and more frequent outages. An increase in outages coupled with limited staffing of systems specialists and more open watches at facilities will all translate to considerable delays to the flying public.

"Employees at the FAA are already doing more with less. The agency cannot, and its employees will not, lose focus on its commitment to safety. However, there is no question that these indiscriminate, across-the-board cuts will reduce the capacity and efficiency of the aviation system and will be felt by all segments of the aviation industry. PASS urges members of Congress and the administration to find a way to avoid these furloughs before the impact is felt this summer."

For 36 years, PASS has represented more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.

Contact: Kori Blalock Keller
April 19, 2013 (202) 293-7277

SOURCE Professional Aviation Safety Specialists