Concerns Expressed And Assurances Needed

The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued a statement regarding President Donald Trump’s nomination of Bryan Bedford to be the next administrator of the FAA.

The statement by Capt. Jason Ambrosi, the President of ALPA:

“We have concerns about the nominee’s past efforts to lower pilot training and safety standards and we look forward to hearing his assurances that he will maintain the current requirements. We also look forward to hearing his views on a key America First issue that will protect aviation safety and advance our nation’s economic interests.

“Specifically, the effort by some foreign airlines and manufacturers to operate with fewer than two pilots on the flight deck, which would undermine aviation safety and put the U.S. at an enormous competitive disadvantage.

“These issues and his plans to help the President and Secretary Duffy modernize our antiquated air traffic control system are of paramount importance to us.”

Clarification: Although not specifically mentioned in Ambrosi’s statement, the ALPA concerns revolve around Bedford’s past efforts to revise the 1,500 hour rule requiring pilots to accumulate at least that many hours to qualify for the Airline Transport Pilot certificate. Several media outlets have suggested that the ‘concerns’ appear to lay the groundwork for a challenge to Bedford’s nomination. We shall see.

The ALPA was founded in 1931 and is the largest airline pilot union in the world representing more than 79,000 pilots flying for 42 airlines in Canada and the United States.

FMI:  www.alpa.org/