FAA reauthorization must put safety first

Anyone who has boarded a plane has been welcomed with the familiar greeting, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking.” What those passengers might not be as familiar with is the rigorous training process these pilots have successfully gone through before they qualify for an airline pilot position and allowed to make that announcement.  U.S. pilots must complete thousands of hours of flight, simulator, and classroom training to meet strict standards that ensure the United States continues to maintain the safest aviation system in the world.  

The impressive safety record in the U.S. commercial aviation industry is a direct reflection of the intensive education, exhaustive training, and experience that are at the core of our profession. Whether a pilot flies passengers or freight, safety is the foundation of everything we do. We also know that our success, and the success of our industry, hinges on putting safety first.

{mosads}That’s why, as Congress works to create the framework for the FAA reauthorization, we believe safety has to be the top priority.

The legislation that allows the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate expires at the end of September, in just a few short months. Congressional leaders are deliberating and attempting to create the framework for a bill that will be signed into law before the current authorization expires. Safety must continue to be the central element of any legislative framework of FAA reauthorization.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Washington shares the pilots’ views. Some are calling for relaxed pilot training and qualification requirements that would streamline and shorten an individual’s entry into the airline pilot profession. Any attempt to reduce oversight, relax safety standards for airline pilot licensing, training, and qualification or to weaken the measures that prevent pilot fatigue reintroduce unacceptable risk to the traveling public and our flight crewmembers.  

Our paramount goal must be to maintain the highest level of safety in order to safeguard passengers, air cargo, and flight crews. We should not settle for anything less.

Airline pilots want to see a clean, on‐time FAA reauthorization bill this year that puts safety first. The legislation must reinforce science-based flight and duty rules that mitigate pilot fatigue. The bill must also enable the FAA to fully implement NextGen, which will further increase the level of safety in our industry as well as improve the efficiency and capacity of our aviation system and allow our airlines to grow and remain profitable.

In recent years, federal regulations have strengthened our system and maintained its status as the safest in the world. But in the past, extraneous measures caused unnecessary and unacceptable delays for completing FAA reauthorization legislation in a timely fashion – including a string of more than 20 stopgap extensions the last time around that prevented the aviation community from making meaningful progress on a number of fronts.

In early June, nearly 200 ALPA pilots from across the country will be meeting in Washington, D.C. to call on Congress to prevent attempts to roll back safety regulations that could delay the passage of the FAA reauthorization bill.

This year, Congress must provide the FAA with the dedicated, stable funding necessary to both fulfill its mandate and also move ahead with its vital work to enhance safety and system efficiency. 

We remain hopeful that this FAA reauthorization will be accomplished without numerous delays and extensions required to enact the current law. The FAA reauthorization legislation is typically the vehicle by which the safety and regulatory standards for the industry are updated and improved. We cannot allow this bill to reverse that trend. ALPA will remain a consistent advocate for protecting and promoting the U.S. aviation industry and making the system even safer and more efficient. We will continue to promote additional safety measures and work to prevent any attempts to roll back safety, but Congress must do its part as well.

Canoll is president of the Air Line Pilots Association.