How Safe Is It When Airline Inspectors Have To Pay Their Own Way?

By Kenneth R. Bazinet

Not everyone is as confident as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that airline safety is not being compromised by furloughed aviation inspectors having to pay their own travel costs and other expenses out of pocket to do their jobs.

Some airline pilots fear the partial shutdown by Congress of the Federal Aviation Administration is putting undue pressure on the inspectors.

“When the FAA inspectors are paying their own bills, will they go far enough, do enough and stay on site long enough to answer all of the concerns,” said one longtime pilot who spoks on the condition that his name not be used.

“Safety costs money,” he added.

If the matter is not resolved soon, rank and file union members will ask the pilots and other airlines unions to weigh-in and potentially take steps of their own.

LaHood insisted the inspectors who are fronting their own money to do their job “are dedicated federal employees who believe in their mission of safety.”

“I can say without equivocation, safety will never be compromised. Flying is safe, and passenger schedules should not be compromised by this issue,” LaHood said.

Congress failed to fund the FAA, forcing 4,000 FAA employees to be furloughed and costing paychecks for another 70,000 construction workers who had been working on $11 billion worth of airport projects.

The government believes it is losing $1 billion in uncollected taxes because of the do-nothing Congress.

Lawmakers blew out of Washington this week for their five-week vacations without resolving the FAA issue. President Obama has asked Congress to return in the next fews days to fix the problem.

“Congress needs to come back, resolve their differences, compromise, and put our friends and neighbors and colleagues back to work,” LaHood said. “They should not leave 74,000 people hanging out there, without jobs, without a paycheck, until September.”

Read more from Kenneth R. Bazinet at The Baz File