Release #09.046
August 5, 2009

Capt. Larry Newman Receives ALPA’s Presidential Citation
Tampa Pilot Recognized for Bold Leadership in Enhancing Aviation Safety

WASHINGTON—The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), will recognize Delta Air Lines Capt. Larry Newman with its 2008 Presidential Citation for his outstanding efforts to advance aviation safety. The award will be presented today during ALPA’s Air Safety Week in Washington, D.C.

“Capt. Newman’s commitment to making air traffic policies and procedures as safe and efficient as possible has helped set the stage for our industry to meet the challenge of increasing air transportation demand in the future,” said Capt. John Prater, ALPA’s president.

Capt. Newman has served as an ALPA safety volunteer since 1994. He has also represented ALPA pilots in the international aviation safety arena before the International Association of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA).

Capt. Newman was chairman of ALPA’s Air Traffic Services Group from 2001 to 2009. In this key position, he worked with exhaustive dedication to advance initiatives to safely enhance capacity in the air transportation system.

Capt. Newman has been instrumental in ALPA’s efforts to transition the industry from ground- to space-based navigation through area navigation (RNAV). Using RNAV procedures will allow airspace to be used more efficiently, increasing capacity while reducing flight delays and fuel consumption. RNAV is currently being used at Atlanta—Newman’s base—as well as at Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Washington Dulles.

In the late 1990s, Capt. Newman played an integral role in ALPA’s “Land and Hold Short Operations” (LAHSO) campaign, which pressed the FAA to improve the safety of the land-and-hold-short procedures that were designed to enhance airport capacity. When the FAA released its final order on LAHSO in 2000, the agency had addressed ALPA’s five areas of concern, and the new directive marked another important, and safe, capacity enhancement for the industry.

During his 15 years of safety work with ALPA, Capt. Newman has also pursued standardized air traffic control phraseology and wake protection zones to safeguard aircraft from wake turbulence during takeoff and landing.

“ALPA pilots across the continent appreciate Capt. Newman’s important work and join me in congratulating him on this honor,” concluded Capt. Prater.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest pilots union, representing nearly 54,000 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States and Canada.

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Contact: Linda Shotwell or Rusty Ayers, 703/481-4440 or media@alpa.org