Allegiant Air: The budget airline flying under the radar (cbsnews.com)

Allegiant Air is a small, ultra-low-cost carrier based in Las Vegas, that happens to be one of the country’s most profitable airlines. But, according to federal aviation records and interviews with pilots, mechanics and industry experts, it may also be the most dangerous. The airline flew 12 million passengers last year on its 99 planes […]


April 17, 2018

Rinaldi testifies before Congress on air traffic controller staffing (natca.org)

On Wednesday, June 15 NATCA President Paul Rinaldi testified before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation. Witnesses at the hearing, “A Review of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Controller Hiring, Staffing and Training Plans,” included Rinaldi; Teri Bristol, Chief Operating Officer, Air Traffic Organization, FAA; Rickie Cannon, Deputy Assistant Administrator for […]


June 24, 2016

Congress needs to give flight attendants a break (washingtonpost.com)

By Fredrick Kunkle The U.S. government could perhaps make the nation’s commercial airways healthier, saner and maybe even safer with a relatively simple step: ensure that flight attendants get enough sleep. It might even strike a blow for gender equality, too. The flight attendants union has been pushing for some time now for federal legislation […]


March 29, 2016

FAA launches new rule to curb unsafe aircraft maintenance outsourcing practices

Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD) President Edward Wytkind issues this statement regarding the FAA’s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on drug and alcohol testing at aircraft maintenance facilities outside the U.S.: “Federal aviation regulators took an important step yesterday in an effort to ensure that foreign aircraft repair stations that work on U.S. aircraft […]


March 17, 2014

PASS testifies regarding FAA certification process

On 30 October 2013, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), which represents approximately 3,000 aviation safety inspectors at the Federal Aviation Administration, testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Aviation, regarding the safety and efficiency of the FAA’s certification process. Aviation safety inspectors have successfully and efficiently provided oversight of the […]


October 31, 2013

PASS statement on limited aviation safety inspector recall

Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), National President Mike Perrone released the following statement regarding the recall of some aviation safety inspectors at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “PASS appreciates the FAA working within the constraints of this government shutdown to bring back critical safety employees, but we stand firm in the belief that all […]


October 9, 2013

USA: Safety and health protections in the cabin become reality thanks to unions

On 22 August 2013, Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), made the following statement in support of the FAA’s final policy statement addressing flight attendant workplace safety in conjunction with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): “Today’s [22th of August’s] announcement by the FAA means that America’s flight attendants who […]


August 28, 2013