Nearly 200 members of the Air Line Pilots Association are volunteering in Washington, D.C., this week, to help lobby Congress to pass a new FAA funding bill that prioritizes safety. The ALPA campaign, called “This is Your Captain Speaking,” features print and digital ads, radio spots, videos and a social-media effort. The campaign will target Capitol Hill for the next two months. This week, pilots are meeting with members of Congress and their staff. “Some [legislators] are calling for rolling back fatigue rules and safety standards for pilot training and qualification,” said ALPA President Tim Canoll.”Airline pilots want to see a clean, on‐time FAA reauthorization bill this year that puts safety first.”
Specifically, ALPA is urging Congress to pass a bill that provides stable, reliable funding for the FAA; upholds current requirements for pilot training and certification; ensures that the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System does not compromise safety; requires secondary cockpit barriers on passenger aircraft; and regulates the transport of lithium batteries by air as dangerous goods, to mitigate the risk of fire aboard aircraft. ALPA also is lobbying Congress to review the operations of three Middle East airlines that ALPA says receive billions of dollars worth of subsidies from their governments and compete unfairly with U.S. operators.
