Boeing faces a shortage of qualified engineers, as well as a limited number of appropriate safety certificates.
To next-generation US presidential aircraftwhich is manufactured by Boeing Co, is facing longer delays due to the limited availability of specialized engineers in the labor market, but also the smaller, compared to the expected number of appropriate safety certificates, as announced yesterday, Wednesday, the competent service congressional inquiries.
The need for Boeing to refer to a supplier as an alternative, to perform internal work on the aircraft, was mentioned in the report prepared by the office (US Government Accountability Office -GAO) as a real threat to the construction schedule of the new presidential aircraft.
The “Air Force One” aircraft, which bears the American flag, the inscription “United States of America”, but also the emblem of the presidential office, is known around the world as one Flying White House.
The aircraft currently in service has 372 square meters of space on three levels, including a meeting room and a doctor’s office.
The Boeing 747-8 aircraft are designed to can fly under the worst case scenario of safety conditionssuch as nuclear war, while they have been modified for the use of military navigation devices, advanced communication systems, but also a self-defense system.
Boeing secured the relevant contract, with an economic value of 3.9 billion dollars (3.64 billion euros) in 2018 for two 747-8 aircraft, which should be delivered in 2024.
The Pentagon announced this year that the same aircraft are unlikely to have been delivered by 2026.
“Boeing is facing constraints on its engineers’ workforce due to competition in the job market,” the GAO report said. “As pointed out by the company, an additional restriction is found in the issuance of a smaller number of classified access permits for specialized workforce, compared to the original number and in order to ensure the planned modification of the aircraft.”
Boeing, for its part, announced that it has focused its attention on delivering two excellent aircraft.
“We continue to make steady progress in the VC-25B program as we manage some challenges,” the company said in a statement.
In December 2016, then-President-elect Donald Trump broke a pledge from Boeing CEO Dennis Mullenberg that the cost of replacing the presidential plane would not exceed $ 4 billion ($ 3.73 billion).
