Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines In a new interview, President Donald Trump’s cuts to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will not affect airline safety.
Bastian appeared on “CBS Morning” Wednesday, speaking on Wednesday, with a recent plane crash at Toronto-Payson International Airport, overturning the Delta flight from Minneapolis when it landed at Canadian airport.
All 80 people on board QueuedThree of them were taken to local hospitals for serious injuries, the FAA said.
The disaster occurred last month in Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Norm, Alaska.
Delta CEO was asked if he was concerned about the Trump administration’s recent FAA layoffs It will affect the safety of the airline.
Delta Airlines plane from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Monday, February 17, 2025. (TERESA BARBIERI/Canada via AP)
“Are these cuts worried about you, do you think it will affect safety?” Co-Bissian Gail King, Co-Bissar of CBS Morning, asked Bastian.
She mentioned how the recent plane crash has made Americans worry about flying.
“Will these cuts affect you?” she repeated.
“The cuts won’t affect us, Gale,” Bastian said.
When asked whether it would affect airline safety, Delta CEO Ed Bastian defended the Trump administration’s federal cuts. (CBS/screenshot)
“I have been with Transportation Secretary. I know the cuts at that time were the cause of the problem, but the reality is that there are over 50,000 people on the FAA. I know that the layoffs are 300 people, and they are in non-critical safety functions. ” he continued.
“The Trump administration has been committed to making in-depth investments in improving the overall technology used in the air traffic control system and the overall technology to modernize the sky. They are committed to hiring other controllers and investigators as well as safety investigators. So no, I, I ‘I don’t care about that at all,’ said Bastian.
New government’s efforts to limit federal spending through its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are under scrutiny From the Democrat.
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DN.Y. Senator Chuck Schumer claimed in a post on X this week that Trump’s “massive layoffs” on the FAA are making the sky “not very safe.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
DN.Y. Sen. Chuck Schumer claimed in a post on X this week that Trump’s “massive layoffs at the FAA” made the sky “not very safe.”
Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that less than 400 employees of the agency were released and clarified that none of them were hired less than a year ago.
“Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were released,” he Post to x, Respond to criticism from former transport minister Pete Buttigieg.
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A Transportation Department spokesman told Fox Business in a statement this week that the FAA will continue to hire and on board “air traffic controllers and safety professionals, including mechanics and others who support them.” The spokesperson also said, “The agency retains staff that performs safety-critical functions.”
Trump administration has promised Thorough review and update On January 29, an air traffic control system between an Army helicopter and a U.S. airline that is about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. This is the deadliest aviation disaster in the United States since 2001.
According to Fox News’ digital analysis of federal data, there are five Deadly plane crashed During the first four weeks of Biden’s presidency, Trump’s first four weeks were associated with ten fatal crashes.
Daniella Genovese of Fox Business and Danielle Wallace of Fox News contributed to the report.
