Nullus Introitus, Malefactor

ALPA has commended the Federal Aviation Administration’s issuance of a final rule pertaining to the implementation of secondary barriers. The term secondary barriers pertains to redundant means by which to block entrance to aircraft flight-decks, thereby diminishing the likelihood of unauthorized persons—primarily, hijackers—gaining access thereto.

Founded in 1931 and representing over seventy-thousand pilots in the employs of forty U.S. and Canadian airlines, the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) is the world’s largest and most influential pilot union.

ALPA president Captain Jason Ambrosi stated: “Twenty-two years ago this September, terrorists used passenger aircraft to kill nearly three-thousand of our fellow Americans and shattered our sense of safety and security. We responded to these attacks decisively and put multiple measures in place to prevent another tragedy like this from happening, but until now have failed to act to install secondary flight deck door barriers. I applaud Acting FAA Administrator Polly Trottenberg for moving to implement this live-saving measure after years of needless delay.”

ALPA has been and remains a proponent of secondary barriers—lightweight security devices proven effective in barring hostile individuals from aircrafts’ flight-decks. Subject barriers were Congressionally-mandated in the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018. Nevertheless, installation of such has been broadly relegated to the province of a nebulous future.

Captain Ambrosi added: “With this action today addressing the installation of secondary barriers on newly manufactured aircraft, we must redouble our efforts to pass the Saracini Enhanced Aviation Safety Act (H.R. 911/S. 911) to address the retrofitting of existing airliners, and work to install primary barriers on cargo aircraft. Because ensuring that no terrorist—domestic or international—breaches another aircraft flight deck door again should be one of this nation’s highest security priorities.”

FMI: www.alpa.org