Association also issues recommendations on maintenance
checklist for private aircraft operators
On Wednesday, the
United States Senate approved the conference report for S. 2845,
the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, following passage by
the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Senate passage of the bill
paves the way for the President's signature, expected soon.
Included in the legislation are a number of provisions designed to
improve the country's national air transportation system.
As part of the legislation, the Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) must establish a system whereby air charter
operators with aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds can
contact the TSA with the names of potential customers to be
screened against government terrorist watch lists. The
operator has the right to refuse service to any potential customer
whose name appears on the watch lists. Earlier versions of
the legislation made the process mandatory for air charter
operators, but through input by the National Air Transportation
Association (NATA), the procedure will now be optional. According
to the law, the program must be in effect within nine months of
passage, possibly sooner.
Currently, a similar procedure exists through the "Twelve-Five"
program, a security program for air charter operators of aircraft
weighing 12,500 pounds or more. That program was adopted
shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. However, in the
past, there has been confusion as to whether the TSA or the
companies themselves would be responsible for checking names
against the watch lists. S. 2845 states that the TSA has the
responsibility for conducting such checks.
"NATA is pleased that
the Congress has clarified that it is the responsibility of the
TSA, not the individual carriers, to screen the names of potential
customers against terrorist watch lists," said NATA president James
K. Coyne. "We are also glad to see that the government
recognizes the right of an air charter operator to deny service to
anyone whose name appears on any of the government watch
lists."
Commenting on the implementation phase of this new law, Coyne
concluded, "We will closely monitor the TSA's implementation of
this program to make sure the agency establishes a system that
recognizes the unique characteristics of the on-demand air charter
industry. It is vital that the TSA establish a system that
can respond quickly to requests from air charter operators."
NATA has also announced a new customer service initiative
produced by the association's Aircraft Maintenance & System
Technology Committee. The new initiative provides a list of
questions that aircraft owners and operators should ask when
considering conducting business with an aircraft service
facility.
The committee's
chairman, David Smith of Jet Aviation, praised the initiative as a
means by which aircraft owners and operators can eliminate
uncertainty and errors in choice when looking for quality
maintenance service.
"Over the last year, the Maintenance Committee has been working
on ways to establish best practice methods to enhance the quality
of service given to our customers," Smith said. "Establishing
this checklist for customers is an excellent opportunity for both
the service provider and the customer to know exactly what is
expected when performing maintenance on an aircraft.
"As the questionnaire states, obtaining the proper answers when
selecting a service provider so that your company is protected from
the burdens of administrative misunderstandings, operation delays
and potential financial losses is a must in today's world," Smith
concluded.
Interested parties can download the NATA Maintenance Checklist
by clicking the FMI link below.
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