Air Transport Association Says Proposed Flightcrew Duty Time Rule Is Poorly Conceived and Not Science-Based in Major Respects

Airlines Call for Significant Revisions to Existing Proposal

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade association for the leading U.S. airlines, today submitted its public comments to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the agency's Flightcrew Member Duty and Rest Requirements Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), calling for significant revisions to the existing proposal.

"The airlines continue to strongly support regulations that demonstrably improve safety performance. That is why ATA in its role on the Aviation Rulemaking Committee was a strong supporter of a science-based approach to create a new Flightcrew Duty Time Rule," said ATA President and CEO James C. May. "We are very concerned that significant aspects of the proposed rule are not science-based."

According to May, beyond the core measures, which we support, the rule, if implemented as written, "would create onerous and duplicative regulations, which in major respects do not mitigate fatigue or increase safety. This significant operational and scheduling complexity will adversely affect our crews and customers.

"We are very concerned that the proposed rule reflects a lack of understanding by FAA of how airlines operate," said May. "Our concerns are validated by the fact that FAA's economic analysis is off the mark by at least a factor of 15 in its impact assessment, making it imperative that this proposal be significantly revised."

May called on FAA to work with the airlines and other interested parties to "fashion a rule based on scientific research and operational factors."

ABOUT ATA

Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and nearly 11 million U.S. jobs. ATA airline members and their affiliates transport more than 90 percent of all U.S. airline passenger and cargo traffic. For more information about the airline industry, visit www.airlines.org and follow us on Twitter @airlinesassn.

SOURCE Air Transport Association