The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3935, the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act. The bill contained a poison-pill provision, which, if enacted by the Senate, could raise the airline pilot retirement age from 65 to 67.
“As the world’s largest nongovernmental aviation safety organization, ALPA is committed to keeping flying safe. Unfortunately, H.R. 3935 as passed by the House will introduce new risk by raising the mandatory pilot retirement age.
“Raising the retirement age is not only a solution in search of a problem, but it is also a proposal that has not been studied or vetted by aviation safety experts—those upon whom we all rely to keep flying safe, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation, both of whom oppose a change for exactly this reason. Earlier this week, lawmakers even voted against allowing a full and open debate on the House floor, which would have let Americans learn about the risks being introduced to air travel. When people in Washington put personal or special interests ahead of the public interest, Americans lose, and bad public policy gets made.
“Representative Jack Bergman (R-MI-1), a former Northwest Airlines captain and retired U.S. Marine Corp lt. general and recognized aviation safety expert, said it best when he explained his ‘no’ vote on final passage of the FAA reauthorization bill:
‘The powers that be pulled out all the stops to silence dissent and shield the American public from a debate they know they can’t win.’
“The retirement age increase will upend union collective bargaining agreements, create training backlogs, and complicate airline flight operations. This is bad for unions, airlines, and passengers who will see additional delays and costs.
“As the Senate continues its FAA reauthorization deliberations, ALPA pilots and supporters will continue to push back against raising the airline pilot retirement age and similarly fight any attempts to weaken current pilot training requirements.”
