The Federal Aviation Administration has given airlines another year to comply with a rule requiring new aircraft be equipped with secondary cockpit barriers, despite opposition from the USA’s largest pilot union.
Trade groups Airlines for America and Regional Airline Association had requested extensions to a 25 August deadline.
At issue is a 2023 FAA rule requiring that airlines by 25 August equip new aircraft with so-called “installed physical secondary barriers”. The devices supplement existing cockpit doors and are intended to better prevent intruders from entering cockpits.
The rule had been in the works for years, having been spurred by the September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.
“The FAA granted a one-year exemption to install and use additional barriers on new commercial airplanes to protect against unauthorised access to the flight deck,” the FAA now says. “This will allow time to facilitate FAA certification and install the barriers.”
The airline associations had argued that meeting the deadline was impractical because manufacturers of the barriers had not yet received required approvals from the FAA. For that reason, airlines could not yet develop cockpit barrier training programmes, as also required by the FAA, the groups said.
The Air Line Pilots Association pushed back, saying the rule and its implementation were long overdue. It now expresses disappointment at the FAA’s decision.
“The FAA’s decision to grant airlines yet another delay on the secondary barrier rule is deeply disappointing and undermines our nation’s aviation security,” says union president Jason Ambrosi. “This pattern of endless delays must stop. Airlines have had ample time – two full years – to comply with this congressionally mandated safety requirement.”
