Gottheimer announces new actions to protect New Jersey skies after massive layoffs at FAA and recent accidents

NEWARK, NJ (Essex County) — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) Friday visited Newark Liberty International Airport to announce new actions to protect the FAA workforce against reckless cuts from the Trump Administration, which would put the safety of passengers in the nation’s busiest airspace at risk.

Gottheimer is fighting back against the Administration’s recent decision this week to fire nearly 400 essential employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) despite fourteen major plane crashes in 2025 alone.

Recent Trouble with Air Safety: 

• In 2024, the Port Authority reported that 146 million air passengers flew in and out of the New Jersey-New York metro area — that’s a new record.
• More than 90 percent of our nation’s air traffic control facilities operate below the FAA’s recommended staffing levels.
  • More than 70 facilities across the country are missing at least a quarter of their recommended workforce.
• As of December 2024, the FAA had a technician shortage of about 800 workers.
• There have been 14 major airplane crashes in just January and February of this year alone.
  • At least 87 airline deaths have occurred in American airspace so far in 2025.

Gottheimer’s Plan to Protect Jersey Skies:

• Gottheimer will introduce new legislation to prohibit major staffing cuts at the FAA if a fatal crash has occurred in US airspace within the last year.
• Gottheimer is sending a letter to the Trump Administration, demanding answers on key safety initiatives required by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which Gottheimer helped pass into law.
  • The legislation requires the FAA to deploy critical safety technology at airports across the country to help prevent “close calls” on and around our runways over the next five years.
• Gottheimer proudly helped write, negotiate, and pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included more than $15 billion in federal investments to support projects to increase airport safety.
• Last summer, New Jersey airports received $53 million to improve air traffic infrastructure, upgrade terminals, and enhance runway safety.
• Newark Liberty International Airport specifically received more than $42 million.
• Gottheimer helped negotiate and pass the FAA Reauthorization Act, which included his amendment to require a secondary cockpit barrier to be installed on all commercial aircraft to help prevent airplane hijacking.

“While the number of flights has surged, the number of aviation workers protecting us hasn’t kept pace. Despite all of this, the Trump Administration announced they were gutting the FAA and firing hundreds of these critical FAA workers at our airports across the country. Firing FAA workers is just plain stupid and puts Jersey families and passengers at risk,” said Gottheimer.

“If we want to reassure families that we are doing everything to protect the lives of their loved ones, we can’t also tell them there will be fewer workers looking out for their safety when they fly. I will never stop fighting to ensure that all of our families across the country are safe and can return home to their loved ones. To anyone who tries to play political games with our air safety — we’re not going to let that fly in Jersey,” said Gottheimer.