The US-based Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) president Stan Bernstein and vice president John Hazlet met FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) acting administrator Dan Elwell to oppose changes to the Part 135 flight-and-duty-time rules as mandated in the recently signed FAA Reauthorization bill.

Section 315 of the bill calls for creation of an Aviation Rulemaking Committee to make recommendations on any changes needed to Parts 135 and 91K. The ARC would be tasked with reviewing scientific data to develop recommendations and report to FAA within two years.

The Flight and Duty Time rules were last addressed in 2010 which was an opportunity to implement changes to Part 135. RACCA, which served on previous Part 135 Flight/Duty ARC, is arguing no changes are necessary now given the timeliness of previous efforts to change flight and duty time.

Fulfilling FAA reauthorisation workforce promises

Meanwhile, the aviation maintenance technician grant program (Section 625 of FAA reauthorisation) is now law but requires more work, according to Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA). RACCA was one of many organization working on the workforce initiatives with ARSA.

“While money for the grant program to fund workforce development has been authorized, it hasn’t been appropriated,” says ARSA executive vice president Christian Klein. “That means we have to engage with the House and Senate appropriations committees to make sure the full $5 million for the grant program is included in the FY 2020 T-HUD appropriations bill. We must also ensure the program is included in DOT’s FY 2020 budget request and we have to engage with the Department of Transportation to ensure the grant programme is a priority and initiated quickly.”