By: Curt Epstein
The Transportation Security Administration has completed the revision of the large aircraft security program (LASP) and the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking is set to begin its circuit to the Department of Homeland Security and Office of Management and Budget for review, according to the agency.
9,000 opposing comments. “What I would tell you is the NPRM process worked,” Delauter, a former NetJets pilot, told Brian Delauter, the TSA’s general manager for general aviation, spoke at a well attended event organized by the Westchester Aviation Association at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., at the end of March and told the group that he believes operators will see a far different rule than the first attempt, which engendered more than “We got public comments, and we listened to the industry. We’ve implemented a lot of those suggestions, and we’ve retooled some portions of it that I think make better sense for security and for business. And I don’t think we’ll have to sacrifice security at all by maintaining a good product that can allow us still to do good business.”
The agency expects a new NPRM to be issued this fall at the latest. Once the NPRM is issued, it will once again be followed by a comment period and public forums. “One of the things that we’ve tried to do with the LASP and with anything going forward is to have some conversation ahead of time about it so we can figure out if the big bright ideas that are created in Washington have any applicability in the real world,” Delauter told the audience. After taking on the general manager position last July, he said one of his key goals was to open lines of communication between the regulators and the industry. Delauter pledged to attend the public forums. “I will not send my staff out to do this because I’m responsible for that, so I’m going to answer for it. When it comes out, I’ll be here to have some open discussion on what we have and what your concerns are with any rule,” he said.
Security Badging Rule
Delauter also touched on another subject that has spawned industry concerns. Security directive 1552-04-08G, which has been in place since last summer, called for increased pilot surveillance and badging requirements at some commercial airports. In response to criticism of and confusion about the plan, which could force some operators who frequent many airports to acquire a multitude of individual airport identifications, Delauter said he is considering alternatives based on recommendations from the agency’s aviation security advisory committee. “What I hope you are going to see is some type of universal badge for GA,” Delauter said. “Even if it’s a new type of pilot’s license, I would love for you to be able to go from airport to airport and have any FBO automatically recognize that you belong there.”
Source: AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Date: 2010-05-01