Early in the 114th Congress, bipartisan support for the Saracini Aviation Safety Act is growing. H.R. 911, appropriately numbered in remembrance of the heroes of 9/11, was introduced on February 12, 2015 by Reps. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Steve Israel (D-NY). The bill calls for the installation of a secondary barrier, an inexpensive, light weight, retractable device to add a layer of security when a flight deck door is opened during flight. The bill is named in honor of Captain Victor J. Saracini, commander of UAL 175 which was hijacked on 9/11. Tell your federal legislator to cosponsor H.R. 911 today.

Read More | Take Action

Action Needed to Deny NAI #5

Take action towards the new Congress NOW: A decision could be reached at any time! DOT has rightfully dismissed Norwegian Air International’s exemption application to operate flights to the U.S. without a foreign air carrier permit. Now, DOT must stop this misguided scheme once and for all and deny the pending application. We must remain vigilant in our call to Deny NAI! If you have participated in a Call to Action to ask Congress to deny NAI, please do so again! More than 200 Members of Congress and 30,000 Americans have made their voices heard to Deny NAI. Now, we must redouble our efforts again in the New Year. Click below to take action to send an email message to your federal legislators. Click here to see if your representative and senator have weighed in to Deny NAI. If they have, please thank them and ask them to call DOT and the White House to deny NAI’s foreign air carrier permit application. If they have yet to act, please urge them to do so now. Our jobs are on the line.

Read More | Take Action

In this year’s edition of Leveling the Playing Field, the third edition of ALPA’s policy paper, the Association provides the blueprint lawmakers need to make U.S. airlines viable companies in the global marketplace. With the deck stacked against the United States, it’s vital that the U.S. government act on the issues threatening the airline industry. The U.S. airline industry is in survival mode, and only the strongest (and/or best funded) will rise above the noise in Washington, D.C.

Read more at levelingtheplayingfield.alpa.org

Join the conversation at #LevelWithUs

Secondary Barriers:
In 2001, Congress mandated the installation of reinforced cockpit doors on most commercial aircraft as the first step toward preventing another 9/11-style breach of the cockpit. To provide better security, secondary barriers were developed to block access to the cockpit whenever the cockpit door is open during flight. Voluntary airline industry movement toward adopting secondary barriers began in 2003, but commitment to deploying these devices has since waned. H.R. 911 the Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2015 simply fulfills Congress’s intent from more than a decade ago to make cockpits more secure.
ALPA letter of Support for HR 911 | Secondary Barriers White Paper

Federal Flight Deck Officer Program:
When dealing with terrorism, the deterrent value of an armed presence within the cockpit cannot be overstated.
FFDO White Paper | Pilot Partisan on FFDO | ALPA Letter to House Appropriators | ALPA Letter to Senate Appropriators | ALPA FFDO Fact Sheet

 

Taxing Health Care Benefits:
Taxing employer provided health coverage is wrong for ALPA members. Under some bipartisan proposals, as many as 84% of ALPA pilots would endure increased costs by 2018.
Talking Points: Taxing Employer-Provided Health Care is Wrong for Air Line Pilots & for America’s Working Families

View all ALPA positions on the ALPA Viewpoints website.

We are looking for volunteers who are interested in promoting ALPA’s legislative agenda and want to serve as pilot partisan representatives to their local congressional office. Volunteers should be willing to schedule and lead in-district advocacy visits with their Member of Congress.