Congressman Nick Langworthy Leads Bipartisan Letter Urging FAA to Protect Airline Safety Requirements

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Nick Langworthy (NY-23), along with Congressmen Brian Higgins (NY-26) and Jake Ellzey (TX-06), led a bipartisan letter to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following the agency’s Notice of Intent to revise rules that have allowed scheduled passenger airline operations that circumvent safety requirements. 

“Unfortunately, a loophole in existing federal aviation regulations enables some passenger airlines to operate scheduled service under lower safety standards as “public charters.” These are not traditional charter operators. Travelers who book tickets on these airlines may not be aware of the FAA’s bifurcated safety rules, which allow these operations without the same crew rest requirements; pilot training and experience standards; or flight dispatch and maintenance requirements that most other airlines must follow, even when operating the same type of aircraft,” the members wrote.

“While policymakers may debate the details of safety and security standards, we should agree that once standards are set, they should apply equally to scheduled passenger airlines,” the letter continued.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

Congressman Langworthy has been a champion for airline safety in Congress. He recently led a successful amendment to this year’s FAA Reauthorization legislation (H.R. 3935) to uphold pilot training hours put in place following the tragic crash of Colgan Air Flight 2407 in Clarence, NY.

The letter was signed by 53 Members of Congress, including Reps. Jack Bergman, Mike Quigley, Colin Z. Allred, Nikki Budzinski, Sean Casten, Emanuel Cleaver, II, Gerald E. Connolly, Anthony D'Esposito, Adriano Espaillat, Brian Fitzpatrick, Bill Foster, Andrew R. Garbarino, Jonathan L. Jackson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Bill Johnson, Robin L. Kelly, Daniel T. Kildee, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Nick LaLota, John B. Larson, Michael V. Lawler, Zoe Lofgren, James C. Moylan, Jerrold Nadler, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Katie Porter, Deborah K. Ross, C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Patrick Ryan, Andrea Salinas, Jan Schakowsky, Claudia Tenney, Shri Thanedar, Paul D. Tonko, Marc A. Veasey, Randy K. Weber, Sr., Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Goldman, Tony Gonzales, Thomas Kean, Jr., Adam Schiff, Chris Pappas, Hillary J. Scholten, Stephen F. Lynch, Angie Craig, Eric Sorensen, David J. Trone, David G. Valadao, Steve Womack.