Senator says FAA administrator failed to sell multimillion-dollar airline stake as promised
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration has not sold his multimillion-dollar stake in the airline he has run since 1999, despite promising to do so as part of his ethics agreement, according to a Democratic senator.
In a letter to Bryan Bedford this week, Senator Maria Cantwell said: Promised to sell all shares in Republic Airways within 90 years his approval But now 150 days have passed. In Bedford’s financial disclosures, the value of Republic shares was estimated at between $6 million and $30 million.
Republic completed the merger last month with another major regional airline, Mesa Air Group. Republic’s shares closed at $19.02 on Thursday; that was nearly double its value before the deal was announced in April.
“It appears that you continue to hold significant equity in this conflicting entity, even months after the deadline to fully withdraw from Republic, which is a clear violation of your ethics agreement. This is unacceptable and requires a full accounting,” Cantwell said in the letter.
Bedford declined a request for comment, and an FAA spokesman said he planned to respond directly to Cantwell.
The agency has been in the spotlight since January. plane collided with military helicopter 67 people died in Washington DC. The investigation has already revealed shortcomings at the FAA, which failed to recognize an alarming number of close calls around Reagan National Airport in previous years.
Then in the spring, technical problems The center, which routes planes to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, highlighted a fragile and outdated system that air traffic controllers rely on.
And in the autumn, the long-standing controller shortage, thousands of flight cancellations and during delays longest government shutdown More and more controllers are missing work without receiving a paycheck.
Bedford vows to prioritize safety and upgrade the country’s outdated air traffic control system. Congress approved $12.5 billion for this project, and last week the FAA chose the company will supervise this work.
