The airline industry is contesting a new safety rule proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration that would force airlines to address serious flaws in potentially thousands of Boeing 737 planes — and they have powerful industry-connected allies in the Trump administration who could help them get their way.
According to the new directive, airlines that fly many of the older generations of Boeing 737 planes must undertake additional inspections, among other safety protocols, after regulators found cracks in several of the planes’ fuselages. Airlines for America, the lobbying group for the country’s major airlines, submitted a public comment last month to weaken the rule, which would require costly maintenance checks.
Transportation secretary Sean Duffy, who now oversees the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), previously worked as an airline lobbyist on behalf of Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, which represents the major airlines. Airlines for America recently selected the former Republican governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, to be their chief executive officer.
The pending rule, first proposed in July, would revise the inspection standards for Boeing airplanes through a regulatory action called an “airworthiness directive.” These actions are akin to a product recall if inspectors find a defective piece of equipment on the plane, which could range from a malfunctioning air conditioner to a faulty engine — or, in the case of the 737 directive, cracks along the body of the plane’s main cabin. In response to such directives, airlines must first inspect the equipment in question before the plane can take off.
Issuing airworthiness directives is considered a rare and serious move by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
“[Airworthiness directives] are not as common as they should be,” said Bill McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project. “If FAA issues an…
Auteur: Luke Goldstein
