United States – The White House negotiators of the US House and Senate said early Monday that they had negotiated to boost air traffic controller staffing and funds to avert runway close-call events but not increase the airline pilot retirement age from 65 to 67.
Pilot Retirement Age Unchanged
The House of Representatives in July 2018 passed by a vote of 351-69 the bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA, in short) which would also set the mandatory pilot retirement age to 67. However, the Commerce Committee of the Senate had rejected the increase in the retirement age back in February 2018. International regulations excepted all airline pilots from flying once they turned 65 except a few countries outside the USA, as reported by Reuters.
Strengthen Aviation Safety Measures and Consumer Rights
The FAA has partially authorized the government for the next five years, and Congress is currently working on a new USD 105 billion deal that ends on May 10. By the end of this week, the Senate will have held a vote on the 1,000-plus-page legislation.
The measure bans airlines from charging for family seating together, and for at least five years, they must accept vouchers and credits. However, it doesn’t go as far as the consumer rules the Biden administration had hoped for.
The law also provides for the installation of 25-hour cockpit recording devices on airplanes and charges the FAA with the responsibility of deploying advanced airport surface technology that will help mitigate the chances of collision.
The aviation safety boost in the United States has increasingly gained importance since the near-miss cases and the Jany—5,20235, 2023 malfunctioned door plug on the Alaska Airlines—Boeing 737 MAX 9 flight.
On Monday, the Senate Commerce Committee’s chair, Maria Cantwell, the top Republican, Ted Cruz, the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Sam Graves, and the top Democrat, Rick Larsen, announced the conclusion of the agreement in a joint declaration and said: “Now more than ever, the FAA needs strong and decisive leadership from Congress to ensure America’s aviation system retains its standard of excellence.”
This provision seeks to raise the fine from USD 25,000 per violation to USD 75,000. Additionally, it aims to fill a shortage of 3,000 air traffic controllers by mandating the FAA develop better staffing standards and recruit more inspectors, engineers, and technical specialists.
Congress and FAA Collaboration
Congress will not impose minimum seat size mandates; meanwhile, the FFA will be in charge. The bill, in particular, mandates the Transportation Department to make up a chart with the minimum seat sizes for every US airline, as reported by Reuters.
The legislation provides for five additional daily flights from Washington Reagan National Airport.
She said the agreement highlighted these goals, which are aviation safety, aviation consumer standards, and so forth.