FAA chief Stephen Dickson to resign from post with 2 years left in his term

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Stephen Dickson, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration, has said that he's decided to leave the post -- about halfway through his five-year term and after weathering a number of criticisms.

Dickson announced the move on Wednesday night, saying that he wants to spend more time with his family after two years of difficulties and isolation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said in a letter to President Joe Biden that his resignation is effective March 31.

After taking office in August 2019, Dickson has led an agency that's been the subject of multiple controversies -- including the global grounding of the Boeing 737 Max and technical difficulties at U.S. airports related to the rollout of 5G cellular networks.

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 airliner is parked at St. Louis-Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, Mo., on March 13, 2019, after it was grounded worldwide due to problems with its automated flight system. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

Dickson has been in aviation for more than 40 years and was appointed to the top FAA post by former President Donald Trump. The FAA administrator is nominated to five-year terms, meaning Dickson's term was supposed to run until mid-2024.

"Over the past several years, my family has been a source of tremendous encouragement, strength and support," Dickson said in a letter to employees, according to CNN.

"Nevertheless, after sometimes long and unavoidable periods of separation from my loved ones during the pandemic, it is time to devote my full time and attention to them. As I wrote in my letter to President Biden, it is time to go home."

A gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City is seen on August 4, 2020. Air traffic nationwide and worldwide took a tremendous hit after the arrival of COVID-19 in early 2020. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

An Air Force Academy graduate, Dickson rose to become senior vice president of flight operations at Delta Air Lines before he took over the FAA. The grounding of Boeing's 737 Max predated his arrival, but Dickson has had to manage the fallout.

Under his tenure, commercial air travel in the United States saw an unprecedented disruption after the arrival of COVID-19 in early 2020 -- and still hasn't returned to prepandemic levels.

"His tenure has been marked by a steadfast commitment to the FAA's safety mission and the 45,000 employees who work tirelessly every day to fulfill it," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, according to The New York Times.