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Trump admin mandates merit-based airline pilot hiring

The FAA is issuing new guidelines requiring all airlines to certify that they will not hire pilots based on sex, race, or other woke criteria, in a move to undo dangerous DEI policies.
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Photo of United, Delta, and American Airlines passenger planes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International AirportWenjie Zheng/Shutterstock

Doug
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Doug Mainwaring
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(LifeSiteNews) — The Trump administration is taking steps to undo the dangerous diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring policies of U.S. airlines, which have threatened the safety of the flying public in recent years.

“We need EXCELLENCE, not DEI hires,” declared Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy after issuing a new mandatory “Operations Specification” requiring all commercial airlines to formally commit to merit-based hiring for pilots.   

“Americans don’t care what their pilot looks like or if they are a man or a woman – they just want the most QUALIFIED pilots flying their planes,” said Duffy. “Safety should always come FIRST.” 

“While the FAA has raised performance standards, dismantled DEI offices and contracts, and revised absurd Biden-Buttigieg era directives that wasted time renaming cockpits to flight decks, allegations of airlines hiring based on race and sex remain,” the FAA explained in a statement. “Under this new mandate, all U.S. carriers will be required to certify that this practice is terminated.” 

Under the Biden-Harris administration, the entirety of the airline industry – airlines, air traffic control (ATC), aircraft manufacturers, and the government agencies charged with overseeing the smooth and safe functioning of the massive industry – was hijacked by diversity, equity, and inclusion imperatives rooted in Marxism that have threatened safety and security of the airline industry. 

While DEI hiring practices had been steadily creeping into the airline industry and the U.S. military since the Obama administration, it was COVID-19 that presented a golden opportunity for the woke DEI ideologues to finally transform the airline industry into a creature more to their liking.

Perhaps by design, extreme COVID-19 “vaccine” mandates forced thousands of seasoned airline pilots and air traffic controllers from the workforce, creating the perfect opportunity for DEI ideologues to fill cockpits and control towers with racial, sexual, gender, and other minorities.

During the final year of the Biden presidency, an airline captain outlined in an article penned for LifeSiteNews the effects of forced vaccinations for pilots and crew and increased mandates of woke policies, especially the promotion of DEI over ability and experience for new pilot and air traffic control (ATC) hires, both of which currently suffer from severe shortages.

“As seasoned professional pilots, I and many of my colleagues are alarmed by the trends we see in our industry,” Captain Bradley Reed said. “Safety is being traded for woke DEI concerns, and health standards for pilots are being relaxed to accommodate adverse reactions to the experimental COVID-19 ‘vaccine’ that were required by major carriers for cockpit crews.”

Another pilot explained on X at the time:

As an airline pilot for 39 years, I can tell you that qualifications for new hire pilots at airlines including big airlines are lower than they have ever been because of this & a shortage of pilots in the workforce.

In addition, because of massive retirements new First Officers will be able to upgrade to Captain much quicker than in the past. This means inexperienced first officers won’t have the time learning from experienced Captains before they upgrade. In addition, this administration and unions want old, experienced pilots dumped.

The airline industry’s entrenchment in woke DEI ideology has been epitomized in United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, who has been as famous for showing up at events dressed in drag as he has for pushing a radical DEI agenda at the organization he heads. 

In an interview with Axios, Kirby admitted to drastically overhauling the complexion of United’s flight crews. “We have committed that 50 percent (50%) of the classes will be women or people of color.”

“Today only 19 percent of our pilots at United Airlines are women or people of color,” he lamented. He then boasted, “And by the way, from all the data I’ve seen, that’s the highest of any airline in the country.”

Meanwhile, over at Delta Airlines, things were no different. 

The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh explained in a riveting 2024 X thread that members of the aviation industry have told him that “DEI is endangering the public and distracting them from their work.”  

We recently had a transgender pilot repeatedly receive negative reviews during his first-year probationary period from Captains he flew with regarding attitude, CRM, and judgment, yet the Chief Pilot’s Office (CPO) was unwilling to address the issue.  

Had this not been a transgender pilot, the individual would likely not have successfully completed their probationary period. Coincidentally, that CPO has a management pilot on staff who recently transitioned who is able to weigh in on these matters. 

“Delta routinely makes exceptions for trans-identifying pilots concerning grooming and behavioral standards,” wrote Walsh, quoting his source. “Internally, Delta has even published a lengthy guide for pilots who believe they were born in the wrong body.”

And it’s not just in the cockpit. Cabin crews whose most important function until a few years ago was passenger safety have increasingly served as a means to signal an airline’s devotion to DEI ideology. In 2022, The Epoch Times reported:

One Southwest flight attendant, a Hispanic female, said: “They are compromising safety for the sake of race, gender identity, and sexual preference … They’re risking people’s lives because of agendas.”

Are tiara-wearing male flight attendants with big hair – and big feet struggling to walk in high heels – more safe or less safe for passengers? 

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