Category: Federal Aviation Administration

What If This Travel Chaos Is Deliberate?

Commentary Well, it happened again. A friend was coming to visit with a layover flight covering three major airports. It should have taken a few hours. Instead, it took 12 hours, and only with the assistance of Amtrak on the last leg. The rebooked flight would have meant another 36-hour delay, so that was out…


New Airline Planes Will Be Required to Have Secondary Barriers to the Cockpit to Protect Pilots

U.S. officials said Wednesday they will require new airline planes to have a second barrier to make it harder for passengers to break into the cockpit when the main door is open. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rule will apply to commercial planes made after mid-2025. The rule will affect airlines that operate scheduled flights,…


IN-DEPTH: US Aviation ‘Going Off a Cliff’ Unless More Pilots Step Up, Get Better Training, Capitol Hill Hearing Told

The cost of becoming an airline pilot is sky-high—in excess of six figures in many cases. A large chunk of the cost comes from a decade-old requirement: pilots must have 1,500 hours of in-flight experience to be certified. Yet many aspiring aviators are racking up the required hours by circling airports under sunny skies. Instead,…


Nationwide Ground Stop for Southwest Airlines Flights Lifted by Federal Aviation Administration

All Southwest Airlines departures were halted in the United States on April 18, but the pause was later lifted. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented the nationwide ground stop at the request of Southwest Airlines, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. The ground stop was lifted around 11:15 a.m. Eastern time. Southwest described dealing with…


Federal Aviation Administration Issues Nationwide Ground Stop for Southwest Airlines Flights

All Southwest Airlines departures have been halted in the United States, officials said on April 18. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed to The Epoch Times that a nationwide ground stop has been imposed. “Southwest Airlines requested the FAA pause the airline’s departures,” an FAA said in an email. It directed questions to Southwest Airlines,…


Biden’s FAA Nominee Withdraws After Debate Over His Qualifications

Phillip Washington, who was President Joe Biden’s choice to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), withdrew his name from consideration over the weekend amid questions from lawmakers about his level of aviation experience going into the job. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg referenced Washington’s decision to withdraw his name in a message posted on Twitter on Saturday…


Qualified-Pilot Members of Congress Battle Over Biden’s FAA Nominee

Lawmakers with aviation experience are weighing in on President Joe Biden’s decision to nominate Phil Washington to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) despite his having no prior aviation expertise. Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who is a member of the Commerce Committee and has a pilot’s license, organized a letter (pdf) to Biden on Thursday…


‘Talent Crisis’ Looms for American Aviation, Senate Committee Is Told

American aviation is in good shape now, but action is needed to head off a shortage of workers in many high-paying aviation jobs, witnesses told a U.S. Senate committee on March 16. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), herself a pilot, warned about the consequences of failing to act. “Without a properly trained, equipped, and compensated workforce,…


Consumers to Congress: Make the Airlines Shape Up

As part of the upcoming must-do bill in Congress to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration Agency, a partnership of the leading consumer advocacy organizations has given Congress a list of consumer protections that should be included. It’s a long list, but there’s nothing in it that isn’t both reasonable and necessary. As we point out—I’m…


LIVE 10 AM ET: Senate Committee on Commerce Holds Hearing on FAA’s NOTAM System Failure

U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation convenes a full committee hearing at 10:00 a.m. ET on Feb. 15 on The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) “System Failure and its Impacts on a Resilient National Airspace.” This hearing will review the causes and impacts of the NOTAM system outage and…