Airways
Helwing Villamizar
22 January 2025
On January 21, 2025, the White House issued a memorandum on “Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation,” directing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US' foremost aviation safety body, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to immediately end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in favour of merit-based hiring.
The order requires reviewing all employees in critical safety positions and replacing underperforming staff with "high-capability individuals." The administration cited concerns about the FAA's previous hiring practices, claiming they prioritized diversity over safety and competency.
The White House memo mentions that “...the FAA Diversity and Inclusion website revealed that the prior administration sought to specifically recruit and hire individuals with serious infirmities that could impact the execution of their essential life-saving duties.”
