Unions Ask Obama To Block 'Cargo Cut-Out' For Safety Of Public

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that exactly what pilot unions have feared appears imminent - revised FAA crew rest rules which exempt cargo carrier from compliance, or set a period for compliance further out than the deadline for passenger airlines.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt (pictured) hosted the annual Meet the Administrator forum at Oshkosh shortly after he got the post in 2009, and said that revised rules for crew rest based on science, not politics, were a "front burner" issue. The FAA's original proposal in 2010 would have guaranteed pilots at least nine hours off between shifts, up from the current standard of eight. The changes were  to take effect in 2013 for all carriers, whether passenger or cargo.

The cargo industry immediately lit up the phones to federal lawmakers, with FedEx and UPS both insisting their unpredictable schedules and routing could not accommodate the changes, and needed a different approach.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that White House regulatory officials are now asking the FAA and DOT for a revision to the original draft, expected to exempt cargo operators from some requirements. The FAA is also reportedly proposing to give cargo airlines additional time to comply.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the union representing pilots at FedEx, has issued a statement which says, in part, "Congress mandated a science-based rule to apply to all pilots, knowing that fatigue does not discriminate based on the type of operation a pilot is flying. Cargo and passenger airlines operate in the same airspace, fly the same air routes and take off and land at the same airports as passenger airlines. The cargo cut out is simply an economic power play which utterly disregards the safety of the American air transportation system."

ALPA has joined with the Independent Pilots Association (IPA), which bargains for pilots at UPS, in sending a joint letter to President Obama. It urges, "...that you direct the Office of Management and Budget to require 'One Level of Safety' with respect to fatigue mitigating rules. A fatigue-impaired cargo pilot poses the same threats to the general public as a fatigue-impaired passenger pilot."

IPA President Bob Travis explains, "This statement by the representatives of the nation's two largest air cargo operators sends a clear and unambiguous message to the White House. This letter is in response to an eleventh hour move by the cargo aviation lobby attempting to kill years of effort to incorporate science-based fatigue rules into the FARs."

FMI: www.alpa.org ; www.ipapilot.org