New rules on foreign repair stations performing heavy maintenance on U.S. air carrier aircraft
Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) introduced legislation that would impose new rules on foreign repair stations performing heavy maintenance on U.S. air carrier aircraft.
The Global Aircraft Maintenance Safety Improvement Act (S. 1256) is a slightly modified version of anti-foreign repair station legislation that passed the House in 2022. While the legislation was significantly improved (and renamed from “the Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act”) during House T&I Committee negotiations last spring, it would still impose new and unnecessary burdens on U.S. air carriers, foreign repair stations, and their employees, and potentially expose U.S. facilities to foreign retaliation.
The legislation requires:
- Inspections of foreign repair stations without notice to the facility.
- Annual reporting by airlines to the FAA about where heavy maintenance is performed outside the United States and any defects discovered within 30 days of an aircraft’s return to service.
- Direct certification by the FAA of supervisory personnel and those authorized to approve an article for return to service at foreign repair stations performing heavy maintenance unless the FAA determines that those individuals are already certificated under an equivalent regime.
- FAA publication of a final drug and alcohol testing rule within two years of the bill’s enactment. If the agency fails to finish the assignment on time, the FAA administrator would be required to personally approve all international travel by FAA employees.
- Security threat assessments for foreign repair station employees.
Parallel legislation (H.R. 1716) was introduced in the House by Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-N.Y.) on March 22. It includes additional restrictions, such as a prohibition on U.S. air carriers contracting for maintenance or the FAA issuing new certificates in countries that have Category 2 status based on the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment. H.R. 1716 has 33 cosponsors.
ARSA opposes the legislation for several reasons, including the absence of any safety issue, a lack of FAA resources to accomplish all the bill requires, additional costs and burdens for foreign repair stations and their airline customers, and the risk of tit-for-tat retaliation against U.S. facilities by foreign authorities. While unions representing airline mechanics have promoted anti-contract maintenance language for decades, this is the first time a Senate bill has been introduced, let alone one with Republican support.
Link to read the article ARSA Hotline Highlight – Senators Introduce Foreign Repair Station Bill
