July 21, 2025

Sen. Markey, Democratic Colleagues Query FAA Administrator Bedford on the Impact of Staff Cuts and Use of Artificial Intelligence on Aviation Safety

Washington (July 21, 2025) - Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, led 11 of his Democratic colleagues in writing a letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Bryan Bedford, requesting answers on the impact of FAA workforce reductions on aviation safety, including among analytical staff who proactively identify safety risks. The senators also inquired about comments by FAA officials suggesting the agency is using artificial intelligence to analyze safety data to identify risks.

In the letter, the lawmakers write, “The tragic crash of American Airlines flight 5342 highlighted serious gaps in our aviation safety system and demonstrated the need for a robust and experienced analytical workforce at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Unfortunately, over the past six months, your agency has significantly reduced its workforce.”

The lawmakers continued, “In the aftermath of the crash, the FAA should be analyzing the near miss data from events at Reagan National Airport and reviewing the sufficiency of FAA staffing. Instead, the agency has moved ahead with workforce reductions. In particular, FAA fired hundreds of probationary employees in critical support roles key to assisting air traffic controllers in doing their jobs.”

The lawmakers request the following information by August 11, 2025:

For each FAA line of business and its relevant suboffices, please provide the (a) number of employees employed as of January 1, 2025, (b) number of employees employed as of July 1, 2025, and (c) the current number of job openings.
For each FAA line of business and its relevant suboffices, please indicate whether any of its job positions are currently subject to a hiring freeze as of January 20, 2025.
Please provide the analysis conducted by the Office of Airports related to the impact of workforce cuts on its safety mission.
Besides the Office of Airports, please explain if any other FAA line of business has conducted an analysis of the impact of workforce cuts on its ability to deliver its mission. If so, please provide those analyses.
Please explain all relevant FAA lines of business and relevant suboffices charged with identifying aviation safety trends and possible safety risks affecting airport operations in congested airspace.
What specific AI tools is the FAA using to analyze aviation safety impacts and flight data and how is this improving FAA’s analysis? Does the FAA have adequate staff, familiar with these tools, to manage this analysis and ensure the security of the data used and generated by AI?

The letter was co-signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va,), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.).

Senator Markey is one of the leading aviation safety champions in the Senate. In February 2025, he led twelve of his Senate colleagues in a letter to the Department of Transportation requesting information about impacts of staffing cuts on transportation safety. In April 2025, Senator Markey introduced his Safety Starts at the Top Act, which would require large aerospace manufacturers have representation from labor unions and safety experts on the company’s board of directors.

###