FAA Tech Ops layoffs and U/S equipment

[A1TAPE]

Looks like FAA Tech Ops employees, the ones who fix ATC equipment and NAVAIDS such as VORs and ILS, are being laid off. Expect to see more U/S NOTAMS in the system for longer periods (longer than the usual 30 days by default). Thank god the FAA finally learned what a GPS is and that you can use it to substitute a broken ground VOR with a GPS WPT. This should make the outages much easier to deal with. Well except if mx control put your GPS/FMS on MEL then ur screwed. Expect to see XXX NA EXCEPT FOR AIRCRAFT EQUIPPED WITH SUITABLE RNAV SYSTEM WITH GPS on a lot for airports as VORs break and no staff is available to fix them.

 

[derg]

I’ll bet you some 23 year old tech bro assumed since his GPS works on his iPhone without a VOR signal, we don’t need VORs.

Thank goodness this isn’t happening in S. Korea where there active GPS spoofing on arrival into ICN where we literally turn off the GPS receivers 400 miles out in some aircraft.

 

[Minuteman]

It appears the layoffs were communicated over the weekend and some were recalled after while SecTrans and DOGE reps were at the ATCSCC offices.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musks-doge-team-visit-us-faa-air-traffic-control-command-center-monday-2025-02-17/

 

[drunkenbeagle]

Thank goodness this isn’t happening in S. Korea where there active GPS spoofing on arrival into ICN where we literally turn off the GPS receivers 400 miles out in some aircraft.

I thought my VOR/LOC was broken for a while, it turned out that every (more than 4) VOR that I had tried to use on the west coast of Florida was out of service. 30 day VOR checks are a bit onerous when you need to spend a whole day flying to find a working one...

 

[Roger Roger]

running it just like a business, lay off the people who actually do the work so the bosses can get an attaboy and the customers can go • themselves

 

[Puckgoalie]

Right during winter where there is no way we would need ILS for approaches!

 

[bbmikej]

running it just like a business, lay off the people who actually do the work so the bosses can get an attaboy and the customers can go • themselves

And then they can give the savings to themselves (SpaceX/Tesla contracts)

 

[bbmikej]

 

[derg]

View attachment 82130

Yeah…

And in the next chapter, we’ll talk about “No Bid Contracts” and FAA privatization

 

[bbmikej]

Call me radical, but I don't think the person who is in charge of laying people off and stretching the ATC system already thinner than it is should be allowed to get contracts to fill the holes they created.

 

[ahw01]

I’ll bet you some 23 year old tech bro assumed since his GPS works on his iPhone without a VOR signal, we don’t need VORs.

Thank goodness this isn’t happening in S. Korea where there active GPS spoofing on arrival into ICN where we literally turn off the GPS receivers 400 miles out in some aircraft.

Didn't we have this exact same thread. Purple and green/raw data. Drives me insane. I won't lower my standards.

 

[A1TAPE]

Ironically Razerback airports in ZME such as XNA went into holding due to equipment outages. Hopefully that region didnt fire all its Tech Ops staff.

 

[A1TAPE]

Call me radical, but I don't think the person who is in charge of laying people off and stretching the ATC system already thinner than it is should be allowed to get contracts to fill the holes they created.

Strange twist to that the FAA FCT towers were run by Serco but the company they replaced had lower wages so all the controllers QUIT. They operated mostly out west including some ski country airports such as Eagle.