The House and Senate committees governing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have created an agreed-upon draft bill, which aims to address America’s air traffic controller shortage while implementing technology that lessens runway collision risks without requiring a contentious rise in pilot retirement age. The legislation would authorize more than $105 billion for the FAA and $738 million for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) throughout fiscal years 2024 through to 2028, with Senate approval anticipated as soon as this week due to a temporary law’s expiration date on May 10th.
The proposal encompasses established Department of Transportation flight cancellation and delay rules requiring refunds if flights are postponed by three hours for domestic trips or six hours for international ones, with easy-to-find request buttons available via airline websites. The legislation would also mandate airlines to provide reimbursements covering lodging, meals, and transportation between accommodations and the airport following flight cancellations/delays attributed solely by an operator. Furthermore, travel credits in lieu of refunds must be valid for at least five years.
The bill proposes 25-hour cockpit voice recorders on commercial aircraft to replace current two-hour standards that have been deemed insufficient according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB has highlighted incidents where critical audio evidence fell outside the allocated period, with investigators indicating their lack was owed wholly to previous constraints.
The draft legislation would also mandate hiring and training as many air traffic controllers possible in order to close a 3000-person gap while requiring more research into optimal controller staffing at towers/centres across the US, together with heightened accessibility to simulation resources within tower premises. Moreover, runway technology installation will be obligatory for medium and major airport hubs following a requirement from both boards that played an essential role in averting American Airlines’ and Delta Air Lines’ passenger jets colliding on JFK Airport’s runways last January 2023.
The legislation would also strengthen rules against attacks upon aviation personnel by broadening legal safeguards for ground-based workers such as check-in and gate agents, in light of a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic; while additionally boosting TSA self-defense training courses that flight attendants can utilize to better protect themselves from unruly passengers or other threats.
The bill does not propose minimum seat sizes for aircraft but instead orders fresh evaluations by the FAA regarding sizing and evacuation standards, with some lawmakers advocating mandatory dimensions due to growing passenger complaints concerning tight coach seating arrangements; following an instruction contained within 2018’s reauthorization legislation requesting analysis on safe/minimum seat sizes as well as aircraft evacuations.
Lastly, the proposal would not stipulate allowing airline pilots replacing physical aviation control duties with extra simulation periods towards fulfilling pilot qualifications. Despite proposals by major carriers for increasing retirement ages to address a shortage of pilots due in part from pandemic-induced personnel reductions; unions have opposed this move, demanding further research into whether it would be secure or if such initiatives might become needless under normal employment scenarios with better candidate numbers/hiring policies.
Congress increased pilot retirement age restrictions to 65 years old from sixty in the year 2007.
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