US
shutdown stokes air safety fears
"This is a matter of
safety, security, and economic concern," said the Association of Flight
Attendants, which held a protest in the capital Washington on Thursday along
with other aviation sector unions to demand the resumption of normal services
AFP/Brendan Smialowski
WASHINGTON: The partial shutdown of the US government could have serious consequences
for air safety, according to unions representing aviation workers, which are
calling for an immediate resolution to the budgetary stalemate.
Some 800,000 federal employees, including those from the Department of
Transport and the Department of Homeland Security which handles air safety and
oversees screening at airport checkpoints, have been affected since Dec 22 when
the impasse over President Donald Trump's demand for a southern border wall
opposed by Democrats in Congress began.
Those deemed non-essential have been placed on unpaid leave, while others have
been forced to continue working without pay.
"This is a matter of safety, security, and economic concern," said
the Association of Flight Attendants, which held a protest in the capital Washington
on Thursday along with other aviation sector unions, to demand the resumption
of normal services.
"Our members and the traveling public are flying within a system that is
less safe and secure as long as the shutdown continues," added the letter
to Congress from the union, which represents some 50,000 professionals.
"We know all too well the economic hardship that can result from any
loophole in our security and any means for inflicting harm by those who view
the United States and its citizens as the enemy," it added in a reference
to the Sep 11, 2001 attacks.
The association noted the airline industry contributes over 5 percent of the
national GDP and supports 11 million jobs, warning: "As the shutdown
continues the entire industry will begin to unravel.
"Airlines cannot receive delivery of aircraft causing route cancellations,
attrition of air traffic controllers reduces flow of aircraft in the air, and
as transportation security officers reduce in numbers we will experience long,
slowed security lines."
The TSA has seen a spike
in the number of agents calling in sick since late December AFP/Brendan
Smialowski
SICK DAYS
The National Association of Air Traffic Controllers (NACTA) meanwhile slammed
the crisis, saying it was making difficult conditions even worse for its 20,000
members.
Federal Aviation Administration Academy in Oklahoma City has been closed as a
result of the shutdown and simulator trainings have been disrupted.
"Stopping the hiring and training pipeline will exacerbate the current
controller staffing crisis," warned the association in a statement.
Even before the shutdown, controllers have been working six-day weeks and
10-hour days at many of the country's busiest airports, NACTA's president Paul
Rinaldi said, adding: "This staffing crisis is negatively affecting the
National Airspace System, and the shutdown almost certainly will make a bad
situation worse."
Travelers meanwhile are beginning to worry about long lines, with a spike in
the number of Transportation Security Administration agents calling in sick
since the end of December.
"Despite providing essential government services, TSA officers are among
the lowest paid Federal employees, with many living paycheck-to-paycheck,"
Representative Bernie Thompson, the new Chairman of the House Committee on
Homeland Security wrote in a recent letter to the TSA leadership.
"It is only reasonable to expect officer call outs and resignations to
increase the longer the shutdown lasts, since no employee can be expected to
work indefinitely without pay.
The TSA has tried to reassure the public. A statement on its website on
Wednesday said 1.74 million passengers were screened across the day, and 99.9
percent had to wait 30 minutes or less.
"Yesterday, Jan 9, 2019, TSA experienced a rate of 5 per cent compared to
a 3.6 per cent unscheduled absence rate one year ago on Jan 9, 2018," it
said, lauding "the more than 51,000 officers across the country (who)
remain focused on the mission."
From
airlines to Buffett's NetJets, impacts of shutdown spread through aviation
The economic impact of the
partial U.S. government shutdown is rippling through the aviation industry,
hitting companies as diverse as Berkshire Hathaway's NetJets and aircraft
manufacturers such as Airbus.
By Alan Levin
The economic impact of the partial U.S. government shutdown is rippling through
the aviation industry, hitting companies as diverse as Berkshire Hathaway's
NetJets and aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus.
NetJets, one of the world's largest corporate-jet operators, hasn't been able
to add new aircraft into its operations, while the delivery of planes made by
Airbus and Brazil's Embraer has been disrupted because the federal employees
who must give their seal of approval aren't working, according to union and
industry officials.
"This partial shutdown has already inflicted real damage to our nation's
aviation system and the impacts will only worsen over time," 34 trade
associations and unions wrote in a letter on Thursday to President Donald Trump
and congressional leaders. "We urge you to act quickly to resolve these
issues."
While U.S. air traffic controllers and airport-security officers are at work
without pay and flight operations have continued with minimal disruptions, many
other transactions in the highly regulated aviation sector have ceased as
thousands of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees stay home.
More than a dozen major departments and agencies have been shuttered since Dec.
22 as Trump and Democratic lawmakers feud over funding for a border wall.
Workers declared essential have been ordered to work, but the FAA has only this
week begun to recall a handful of its 3,000 safety inspectors.
Those inspectors and other FAA employees are required to sign off on thousands
of transactions, from pilot licenses to layers of approvals necessary before a
new jetliner can enter commercial service. In some cases, employees of airlines
or manufacturers like Boeing have been granted legal authority by FAA to give
such approvals, but many such tasks still require a government official. Even
if Boeing and Airbus jets receive post-manufacturer certification, an FAA
inspector must approve adding the planes to an airline's fleet.
The shutdown has halted work on new aircraft certification, interactions
between FAA and other nations, some aircraft registrations, commercial-drone
flight authorizations, aircraft mechanic licenses, introduction of new
air-traffic technology and airport-construction approvals, among scores of
other actions, according to the industry letter.
Delta Air Lines, for example, needs FAA inspectors to give final approval to
add new Airbus A220 models to its fleet before it can begin its scheduled
introduction by Jan. 31, said William Hoogenhout, a regional business agent for
the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union. Hoogenhout helps oversee
Delta.
The impacts on Delta are more extensive than that, he said. The airline also is
expecting delivery of about two additional new jets a week, which can't be
added to its fleet without FAA approval. Inspectors must also sign off on
repairs for older aircraft, several of which are in repair stations now, he
said.
Delta can use its own employees to approve when its pilots move from one
aircraft model to another, but the FAA's pilot inspectors normally share those
duties and their absence has put an added burden on the carrier.
"It's really slowing them down," Hoogenhout said.
Delta continues to monitor the situation and work with the FAA, and expects no
customer disruption or impact to flight schedules, said Morgan Durrant, a
spokesman.
Airbus isn't seeing a significant slowdown in its deliveries, said company
spokesman Clay McConnell.
Aircraft manufacturers like Airbus often have employees with authority to give
some FAA approvals, though not in all factories. Even if they can deliver new
aircraft to a carrier, other FAA approvals are often needed before the plane
can be put into service.
Southwest Airlines believes the shutdown "likely" will delay its
plans to begin service to Hawaii, Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly said in a
message to employees last week.
The nation's almost 2,000 charter carriers are facing even more impacts,
according to union members and industry groups.
NetJets, for example, has been blocked from adding new aircraft to its charter
fleet, said Jon Jeffries, a regional business agent for the PASS union who
works in the Ohio office that oversees the company. Representatives of the
company didn't respond to email and telephone requests for comment. Warren
Buffett is the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway.
One air-charter company has two aircraft stranded in Canada as a result of the
shutdown, said John McGraw, director of regulatory affairs for the National Air
Transportation Association, a trade group representing such carriers. The newly
purchased planes were being painted and need a special FAA approval before they
can be flown back to the U.S., McGraw said.
"It's a big impact having an aircraft sitting around," he said.
"It costs a lot of money."
Companies making corporate jets and other aircraft used by private pilots are
also seeing increased hurdles to doing business because FAA workers haven't
been able to approve new designs or special flight authorizations, the trade
group General Aviation Manufacturers Association said in a statement.
"We are very concerned about the potential effects of a prolonged shutdown
on other elements of FAA operations," the group said in an email.
"As the partial government shutdown continues, the human and economic
consequences are increasing and doing greater harm," said the letter to
Trump and lawmakers. "Civil aviation supports more than 7 percent of the
U.S. gross domestic product and $1.5 trillion of economic impact, creating over
11.5 million jobs, but this shutdown is hampering our ability to function
effectively."
The letter was signed by groups ranging from the General Aviation Manufacturing
Association and Airports Council International-North America to the Association
for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.
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