JeffDG
Touchdown! Greaser!
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a press conference this morning, Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, John Pistole, announced new regulations that are going into effect immediately in order to better secure the nation's airspace.
"Since the beginning of aviation, pilots have had tremendous freedom to go where they want to within the National Airspace System. We at the TSA endeavor every day to enhance the freedom of the travelling public, and like all of our regulations, the new rules being announced today will assist the public with enhancing their freedom, by giving them the tools to effectively plan where they are going."
Starting today, all flights will be required to pre-register their departure and destination airports, along with their departure and arrival times. This will be facilitated by a new website: http://flycare.gov. Pilots will have easy access to this site at any time of the day, from 8am through 4pm daily. Pilots will also have considerable flexibility. They will not be required to register changes in their departure or arrival times of less than 5 minutes. TSA personnel will also have the option of imposing smaller penalties of $9,000 per occurrence for times that vary by as much as 7 minutes from the declared times.
"Pilots and passengers are now free from worry about constantly varying departure and arrival times thanks to these regulations." echoed Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. "These regulations will even permit pilots to vary by as far as 1 mile from the most direct route between the airports, provided that they request the variance at least 48 hours in advance, and maintain a written copy of their approval in the aircraft at all times."
Several members of Congress were skeptical about these regulations. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked why the TSA continued to permit aircraft with seating capacities of more than 4 to be flown without special permission, and promised to introduce legislation to close the "airshow loophole" that permits people to purchase aircraft at airshows without a background check. Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA4) was concerned that carrying the written approval could cause the aircraft to capsize in flight.
Mark Baker, President of the Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association, stated in a press release "We are happy that these new regulations do not include user fees. AOPA will continue to advocate against user fees to the exclusion of all else."
"Since the beginning of aviation, pilots have had tremendous freedom to go where they want to within the National Airspace System. We at the TSA endeavor every day to enhance the freedom of the travelling public, and like all of our regulations, the new rules being announced today will assist the public with enhancing their freedom, by giving them the tools to effectively plan where they are going."
Starting today, all flights will be required to pre-register their departure and destination airports, along with their departure and arrival times. This will be facilitated by a new website: http://flycare.gov. Pilots will have easy access to this site at any time of the day, from 8am through 4pm daily. Pilots will also have considerable flexibility. They will not be required to register changes in their departure or arrival times of less than 5 minutes. TSA personnel will also have the option of imposing smaller penalties of $9,000 per occurrence for times that vary by as much as 7 minutes from the declared times.
"Pilots and passengers are now free from worry about constantly varying departure and arrival times thanks to these regulations." echoed Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. "These regulations will even permit pilots to vary by as far as 1 mile from the most direct route between the airports, provided that they request the variance at least 48 hours in advance, and maintain a written copy of their approval in the aircraft at all times."
Several members of Congress were skeptical about these regulations. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) asked why the TSA continued to permit aircraft with seating capacities of more than 4 to be flown without special permission, and promised to introduce legislation to close the "airshow loophole" that permits people to purchase aircraft at airshows without a background check. Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA4) was concerned that carrying the written approval could cause the aircraft to capsize in flight.
Mark Baker, President of the Aircraft Owner and Pilots Association, stated in a press release "We are happy that these new regulations do not include user fees. AOPA will continue to advocate against user fees to the exclusion of all else."
