Mon, Mar 07, 2005
AOPA Continues Efforts To Restore GA Access
Transportation Security Administration chief Adm. David Stone
faced criticism Thursday over what some view as his agency's
foot-dragging in reopening airports near Washington, DC, to general
aviation traffic.
During a hearing to review the TSA's budget, Rep. Hal Rogers
(R-KY), chairman of the House subcommittee on Homeland Security and
a friend to GA, questioned Stone about delays in delivering a
report that will outline a plan for reopening Reagan National
Airport and airports within 15 nm of it, the so-called DC-3, to
general aviation traffic.
That report was due to Congress on March 1. Another TSA report
that's supposed to provide updates on the continuing need for the
ADIZ airspace restrictions around Washington is months overdue.
"AOPA hasn't forgotten about all the
pilots whose access to the nation's capital is limited by the ADIZ
and airport restrictions, and we're making sure that lawmakers
don't forget them, either," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "That's
why our Capitol Hill staff stays in touch with key lawmakers to
ensure that they understand how important these issues are to
pilots and that they will not quietly disappear."
And that advocacy has begun to pay off, though significant
hurdles remain. In February, the TSA issued a new rule opening the
DC-3 airports to transient operations, provided that pilots comply
with the same extensive security procedures that based pilots must
follow. The move was significant because it represented the first
time that transient GA pilots could have access to those airports
since September 11, 2001.
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