Praise Legislation to Tighten Security at Foreign Aircraft Repair Stations

Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) Local 33, serving Northwest and Mesaba Airlines, publicly applauded pending Congressional legislation that would make security at foreign aircraft repair stations as stringent as in the U.S.

The legislation, recently passed by the Senate and now before the House (H.R. 2144), would require employees of foreign repair stations who work on U.S. aircraft to undergo drug and alcohol testing at the same level as domestic airline maintenance workers. Foreign repair stations would be  subject to inspections without notice and security audits, just as domestic maintenance facilities are today. The security audits would be carried out within one year after passage of the legislation. If a foreign repair station failed to correct security issues within 90 days of notification, its certificate to repair U.S. aircraft would be suspended.

Additional bureaucratic hassles will also narrow "cost gap" between US, foreign shops.

"We have been pursuing this issue hard since September 2001, in Washington and in the press. It's gratifying to see this progress happening," said AMFA Local 33 President Jim Atkinson. "We're also glad that, in a non-partisan spirit, the AFL-CIO is now also supporting this issue."

In presenting an amendment to the Senate bill on behalf of himself and others, including Minnesota's Mark Dayton, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) said, "What we have at the present time is a very different set of standards for foreign repair stations than are in effect for domestic stations. In foreign stations, for example, there need not be drug and alcohol testing. In foreign stations, there are not the kinds of requirements and regulations as to the maintenance of safety, and there are no requirements as to security."

Overseas authority for FAA:

Enforcement of the new regulations would be handled by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), under its existing authority for U.S. aircraft overseas. "With appropriate funding, we believe the FAA will do a good job enforcing these important new security regulations," Atkinson said.

Northwest Airlines outsources a portion of its aircraft maintenance work to foreign repair stations in Singapore, mainland China and elsewhere. A report from Philippine intelligence concluded that Singapore remains "a perfect target" for terrorist attacks against American businesses, despite the foiling of Al Qaida-related plots that included a planned attack on the international airport, and spying by a senior aircraft mechanic.

When "security" -- job and safety -- comes together:

"Naturally, we are concerned about job security for our members. Any airline receiving multiple rounds of federal aid since 9-11 should feel morally obligated to keep jobs here at home, rather than sending this work to foreign repair stations," Atkinson said. "But beyond that, we are very concerned about security at foreign aircraft repair stations, especially in Singapore and China. Without the regulations outlined in the pending legislation, the security risks are inherently greater when work is performed in these locations on aircraft that are used to fly Americans and others in the U.S. and around the world."

FMI: www.amfa33.org