The billionaire’s people have marched into the Federal Aviation Administration, and Europeans are “freaking out.”
BRUSSELS — European aviation experts are aghast at the Trump administration’s decision to have Elon Musk’s employees investigate its troubled and understaffed air traffic control system following several high-profile air crashes.
Aviation professionals, experts and politicians warn that the world’s richest man doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to safety and of the possible implications of involving his SpaceX company in U.S. air traffic safety.
“Is Mr. Musk the right person? I mean, all of the things he builds have a terrible tendency to burst into flames,” said Andrew Charlton, managing director of the Aviation Advocacy consultancy.
Asked if the European aviation sector was concerned about the X boss’ new task to fix U.S. air traffic management, Charlton said: “Yes, 100 percent. I think the word you’re after is dumbstruck. I mean, they’re freaking out. They’re watching with slack-jawed amazement.”
In the aftermath of the Jan. 29 mid-air crash between a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter over Washington that claimed 67 lives, Musk promised that his cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team would look to make “rapid safety upgrades” to the country’s air traffic control sector.
And on Monday, U.S. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, who was recently appointed by President Donald Trump, announced the involvement of Musk’s employees in a post on X saying the team was expected to “get a firsthand look at the current system, learn what air traffic controllers like and dislike about their current tools, and envision how we can make a new, better, modern and safer system.”
In recent years, the U.S. has seen a steep spike in near-collisions involving commercial airplanes at airports, with five incidents in 2022 and 11 incidents in 2023. The FAA’s air traffic control workforce has been playing catchup for decades due to a wave of retirements that has left the controller workforce understaffed by thousands.
The new Trump administration’s approach to aviation safety clashes with its effort to slash government spending; DOGE is firing thousands of probationary employees who maintain critical infrastructure.
“It’s obvious that Elon Musk’s business is not about safety, but about his money, which is OK. He’s a businessman,” said Daniel Liebhart, an Austrian air traffic controller and chair of the aviation section of the Vida union.
“But when it comes to air traffic control … it’s about people’s lives. And their safety should be the No. 1 priority,” Liebhart added.
“If people without the necessary technical expertise carry out opaque interventions in such a complex sector, it may have serious implications for aviation safety,” said Jan-Christoph Oetjen, a German member of the European Parliament from the Renew Europe group who sits on the legislature’s transport committee.
“In the interests of all people, it must be ensured that air traffic control remains fully operational and that significant changes are not implemented carelessly,” Oetjen said.
On Monday, SpaceX employees visited the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center in Virginia.
There is no question that the U.S. system could use reform. « Air traffic management in America and globally needs a massive technological upgrade,” Charlton said.
But “every change you make [in air traffic control] has got to be incremental, evolutionary, not revolutionary,” he added, “and you’ve also got the problem of bringing your staff with you.”
In addition to the well-documented problems of understaffing in U.S. control towers, “I know that [they] are through the roof in terms of working time for the current air traffic controllers. So that’s really alarming,” said Gauthier Sturtzer, a French air traffic controller and chair of the CGT union’s air traffic management committee.
“Does that make flying unsafe? Well, I hope not. But I cannot be sure of the current trend,” Sturtzer said.
In addition to safety concerns, Musk’s involvement with the FAA also raised eyebrows as the federal agency sought to fine SpaceX last year for a series of alleged safety violations on two rocket launches in 2023.
According to Sturtzer, Musk “is not going to be helpful to the sector. He wants to serve his own interests by keeping the FAA away from space operations.”
