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Allied Pilots Association on Pending Flight Time-Duty Time Rules: “Must Be Issued Now without Further Delay”

Dépèche transmise le 5 août 2011 par Business Wire

Allied Pilots Association on Pending Flight Time-Duty Time Rules: “Must Be Issued Now without Further Delay”

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Allied Pilots Association (APA), certified collective bargaining agent for the 11,000 pilots of American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), urged the federal government to proceed with the issuance of new flight- and duty time rules for commercial pilots.

“Congress mandated an August 1, 2011 deadline for the issuance of long-needed revisions to regulations governing airline pilot flight- and duty-time and minimum rest requirements”

“Congress mandated an August 1, 2011 deadline for the issuance of long-needed revisions to regulations governing airline pilot flight- and duty-time and minimum rest requirements,” said APA President Captain David Bates. “To help ensure the safety of the traveling public, these revised regulations must be issued now without further delay. It’s unconscionable to permit special interests to delay the implementation of science-based, standardized flight- and duty-time regulations.”

APA representatives and a broad range of other industry stakeholders participated in the lengthy rulemaking process to develop the new regulations. According to various news reports, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has delayed issuing the new regulations in response to objections expressed by Part 121 Supplemental carriers, which include on-demand cargo airlines.

Bates noted that the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has identified the need to address human fatigue in flight operations as one of its “most wanted” safety improvements for more than 20 years.

“For the sake of everyone who has lost loved ones in fatigue-related accidents, these new rules must be implemented immediately,” he said. “We now have the tools to make flying safer—let’s use them.”

Founded in 1963, the Allied Pilots Association—the largest independent pilot union in the U.S.—is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. APA represents the 11,000 pilots of American Airlines, including more than 1,000 pilots not yet offered recall from furlough. The furloughs began shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Also, several hundred American Airlines pilots are on full-time military leave of absence serving in the armed forces. The union’s Web site address is www.alliedpilots.org. American Airlines is the nation’s largest international passenger carrier and fifth-largest cargo carrier.