Biden taps Denver airport chief Phil Washington to head the FAA

• Phil Washington is currently the administrator of Denver International Airport.
• He was nominated by President Joe Biden to lead the Federal Aviation Administration.
• The FAA’s reputation was tarnished after two recent incidents involving Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

Phil Washington, the administrator of Denver International Airport, was proposed by President Joe Biden on Wednesday to head the Federal Aviation Administration.

Washington was nominated to lead the organisation, which employs around 45,000 people, after Steve Dickson resigned from his position at the end of March, nearly halfway through his term, claiming personal reasons. The FAA’s safety chief Billy Nolen has been appointed as acting administrator. Washington previously served as CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for six years before taking the helm of Denver International Airport, one of the busiest in the nation.

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If elected, Washington will lead a department that has been struggling to repair its reputation following two tragic incidents involving Boeing’s 737 Max aircraft, which prompted lawmakers to tighten regulation of brand-new aeroplanes.

The FAA is also entrusted with inspecting new Boeing aircraft, including the 777X and the 737 Max 10, the largest variant in the Max family. Dreamliner jet deliveries, which have been suspended for more than a year owing to production issues, have not yet been authorised by the government to resume.

Amid staffing shortages and other difficulties, the agency has also been collaborating with airlines to reduce the frequency of aircraft delays and cancellations. The FAA and airline executives have been at odds recently, blaming one another for a spike in flight cancellations that have disrupted the travel plans of thousands of passengers.

Executives from airlines have blamed delays on the FAA-mandated staffing of air traffic controllers.

Specifically mentioning busy areas of New York and Florida, United Airlines Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Roitman wrote in a staff letter on Wednesday, “The reality is that there are more planes booked industry-wide than the ATC staffing system can handle.” We anticipate that the American aviation system will face difficulties this summer and beyond until that issue is rectified.

In response, the FAA stated that its personnel is not the main cause of most delays and cancellations and instead blamed airline staffing, air traffic control capacity, bad weather, and heavy traffic for the problems.

In order to reduce delays, United recently cut back on its Newark, New Jersey, schedule. Flights have been reduced by other carriers such as Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest so they won’t be overloaded when usual interruptions occur.

The FAA expressed appreciation for the measures airlines are taking to enhance performance in a statement, but noted that more must be done to reduce cancellations and delays.

“It is terrible to see United Airlines conflating weather-related ATC measures with ATC staffing concerns, which could incorrectly imply that a majority of those situations are caused by FAA personnel,” said one aviation expert.

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