FAA Oversight of United Airlines Maintenance Hampered by Staffing Shortages, Audit Finds
Contact Our Team
For more information about how Halldale can add value to your marketing and promotional campaigns or to discuss event exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities, contact our team to find out more
The Americas -
holly.foster@halldale.com
Rest of World -
jeremy@halldale.com
Federal Aviation Administration oversight of United Airlines' maintenance operations has been compromised by inadequate staffing, high employee turnover, and inappropriate use of virtual inspections, according to a U.S. Transportation Department Inspector General audit released Friday.
The audit, conducted between May 2024 and December 2025, found the FAA lacks sufficient personnel and workforce planning to effectively monitor United's fleet. The findings follow similar Inspector General reports identifying FAA oversight challenges at American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Allegiant Air maintenance programmes.
According to the Associated Press, which reported the audit findings, FAA inspectors were instructed by front-line managers to conduct inspections virtually when staffing or travel funding was unavailable, despite agency policy requiring postponement of reviews that cannot be performed on-site. The report stated remote inspections create safety risks as inspectors may miss or misidentify maintenance issues.
Ongoing staffing shortages at FAA offices responsible for United oversight have resulted in reduced inspection frequency, limited surveillance of maintenance operations, and loss of institutional knowledge, the audit found.
The Inspector General recommended the FAA reevaluate staffing requirements, conduct independent workplace surveys of inspector workloads and office culture, and improve training on accessing United's safety data - a gap currently preventing inspectors from fully evaluating maintenance trends and safety risks.
In a letter included in the audit report, the FAA stated it agreed with most recommendations and would implement "a more systemic approach to strengthen inspector capacity" by year-end. The agency declined further comment to AP.
