KaiserAir Inc. (Booth No. 3241), a full-service FBO and charter company based at Oakland (Calif.) International Airport, is keeping close watch over ruling TSA-2002-11604-1, nicknamed the Twelve-Five Rule, in which aircraft of 12,500 lb and over must comply with nearly the same personnel and baggage security screening requirements as measures adopted earlier this year for aircraft weighing more than 95,000 lb. The comment period for the Twelve-Five Rule ends September 30.
“One of the concerns with the rule is who will be responsible for implementing the procedures,” said Gregg Rorabaugh, KaiserAir vice president of properties and line service. In addition to handling charter service for its fleet of Citations, Gulfstreams and Hawkers, KaiserAir provides FBO services for many of the sports teams in the Oakland area that would be affected by the Twelve-Five Rule. “We don’t think implementation will fall on the FBO since the FBO has no authority over any entity involved. The current wording is that screening will be the responsibility of the operator, and we think that it will stay that way but we’re watching it.”
The final security program ruling will be published by October 31 with a mandatory compliance date of December 1. KaiserAir has already begun beefing up its security processes in preparation for the new rules, including subjecting employees to 10-year previous employment verification checks and fingerprinting, locking down access to the ramp by ensuring all personnel are badged and issuing temporary one-day badges to transient pilots and passengers, hiring three additional security guards to provide 24-hour surveillance and restricting taxis and private vehicles from the ramp.