More than two years past the mandated deadline, FAA has yet to finalize rules requiring secondary barriers on new aircraft

Washington (June 1, 2023) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) joined Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) in sending a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Acting Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) Administrator Billy Nolen urging the FAA to implement the Saracini Aviation Safety Act of 2018. The law requires all new commercial aircraft to be built with a secondary barrier separating the cockpit from the cabin within a year of enactment. The FAA issued a proposed rule requiring these barriers last year, but although the public comment period closed in September 2022, there has been no public update on the timing of a final rule.  

“Hundreds of new planes have entered use since October 5, 2019, the statutory date for implementation of the rule, but none of these aircraft were required to be equipped with secondary barriers. With the average airplane staying in commercial service for 20 – 30 years, this means that millions of flights will occur without the Congressionally required safety mechanisms in place,” the senators wrote. “Further delays in implementation, compounded by the two-year transition period in the proposed rule, will only increase that number.”

Full text of the letter is below and the signed PDF is HERE.

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