Well… sh*t! This FAA announcement isn’t bold reform, it’s damage control. DOGE didn’t axe controllers, but they fired nearly 400 critical support staff– mechanics, safety assistants, and other behind-the-scenes roles the system depends on. A federal judge later forced the FAA to reinstate about a third of them, ruling the mass firings illegal. But there’s still no plan to fully restore the rest. Now the FAA’s tossing bonuses like duct tape, hoping we forget the mess. “Supercharged”? Please, this is spin trying to cover a self-inflicted wound.
Ah, one more thing. Hiring 2,000 new controllers is meaningless if the support scaffolding is still missing. The FAA is building a workforce on a hollow foundation unless it restores the essential roles DOGE cut. Without that backing, from techs, safety assistants, and info specialists, new hires face more stress, more inefficiency, and likely more attrition. The very thing this initiative claims to fix could end up worse.