Union Notes Safety Regs More Than Two Months Overdue

New regulations for minimum crew rest periods, based on science, were a personal crusade for FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt when he first took the job. They were demanded by Congress after the Colgan 3407 crash. And a panel of industry stakeholders got together and created them. But they've been sitting for months, bottled up in an administrative review process.

ALPA, the Air Line Pilots Association, International, joined more than 100 members of Congress Tuesday in calling on President Obama to ensure that US airline pilots are adequately rested to safely perform their jobs by directing the appropriate agencies to immediately issue standardized flight- and duty-time limits and minimum rest requirements for flight crews.

“Despite the two months that have passed since the deadline set by Congress, the new science-based pilot fatigue regulations remain stalled in bureaucratic review,” said Captain Lee Moak, ALPA’s president (pictured). “This delay is unconscionable, considering the risk that exists for U.S. troops, airline passengers, and cargo shippers who rely on safe air transportation.”

ALPA emphasizes that the FAA Aviation Rulemaking Committee addressing airline pilot flight- and duty-time limits included representatives from all types of flight operations–domestic, international, regional, and supplemental. Every segment of the industry had a voice in the process that created a recommended science-based regulation to provide one level of safety for all Part 121 operations.

“Given the historic collaboration and compelling science behind these new regulations, President Obama must safeguard air transportation by directing the swift release of a final standardized rule,” said Captain Moak. “With the safety of the traveling public at stake, it is simply impossible to justify anything less than immediate action.”

ALPA represents more than 53,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the United States and Canada.

FMI: www.alpa.org