A leading Senate Republican announced on Thursday his intention to back the White House's nominee for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) leadership. This comes as the FAA grapples with a series of near-miss incidents and a shortage of air traffic controllers. President Joe Biden nominated Michael Whitaker, a former deputy FAA administrator under President Barack Obama and currently the chief commercial officer for Supernal, a Hyundai company developing an electric air taxi, to lead the FAA. The agency has been without a permanent head for 18 months after the previous nominee withdrew.
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Senator Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, stated that Whitaker is committed to focusing on the FAA's primary responsibility of ensuring national aerospace safety. He added that the FAA urgently needs independent leadership willing to challenge the status quo. Whitaker received support from Republican Senator Jerry Moran during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Committee chair Maria Cantwell expressed her satisfaction with Whitaker's performance at the hearing and hopes to have a committee vote on his nomination.
Whitaker emphasized that resolving persistent air traffic controller staffing issues is a priority for the FAA, which currently has 10% fewer controllers than in 2012. He also stressed the need for the FAA to address a series of near-miss airplane incidents and aim to reduce serious incidents to zero.
In April, an independent safety review team was appointed by the FAA to enhance air safety and make recommendations by October. The FAA also announced last month that it would extend cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports until October 2024 due to these issues. U.S. airlines, including United, have voiced their frustrations over air traffic staff shortages and have requested waivers for minimum flight requirements. Another significant issue is the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX 7, a smaller version of their best-selling plane, which has been delayed until 2024.
