news

  Alaskan Congressman Don Young released the following statement today regarding the recent announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration regarding its plan to move Alaskan engineers to Seattle as part of their Engineering Services Efficiency Plan:

"I am disappointed by the FAA’s decision to consolidate many air traffic control and engineering functions in order to cut operating costs," said Rep. Young. "Their new plan proposes to relocate the Alaska and Los Angeles based professional engineers and architects to Seattle to become part of an engineering pool. This pool would be used to design and oversee implementation of FAA systems for the western third of the United States. This means that engineers familiar with the terrain of cities in California could now become responsible for designing projects in Barrow or Petersburg.

"I have no doubt that all of these engineers are excellent in their field, but few if any have ever had to deal with permafrost or arctic pipe. The terrain in Alaska is very specific to our area; we live in an environment unique to the United States, and have weather issues that those in the Lower 48 have never even heard of. Those that have been trained and who work here are an incredible asset to our state, and I think it is a big mistake to relocate them.

"I spoke today with FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell, and explained my concerns to him. I was assured he will look into the issue with more depth and with an open mind. This consolidation means a loss of 50 jobs to our state and the loss of those trained specifically to deal with a state where air travel is the only means of transportation to 70% of the area. I strongly encourage the FAA to revisit this plan and carefully weigh the consequences of this consolidation, and consider the loss to the State of Alaska."

####