While the senior leadership of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has turned over under a new administration, the business and general aviation community has continued to make progress on several key initiatives, such as improvements in the Alien Flight School Program and airport security guidelines, working in tandem with staff at the agency.
On August 10, David Pekoske formally stepped into the role of TSA Administrator, succeeding Peter Neffenger. Since his swearing in, Pekoske has had a full plate with activities surrounding Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, as well as the commemoration of 9/11. In addition, he has begun initial outreach to international regulators, meeting with European Union officials in mid-September. That outreach is extending to stakeholders, and is anticipated to include the business and general aviation community in upcoming months, industry advocates say.
While that means another education effort for industry leaders, who want to make sure he understands the scope and diversity of business and general aviation, those industry leaders have remained engaged—and seen results of that engagement—within the ranks of the career agency staff. Some of this work has been accomplished through the industry/government Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC). The ASAC had been reactivated in the past decade, but was codified under the Aviation Stakeholder Participation Act of 2014, which directed the TSA to consult with an advisory committee on security matters. That put in place a structure that ensured industry has a voice and a means for regular communication with an agency that has undergone considerable churn over the years.
The committee represents a spectrum of industry, including general aviation, and has met at least quarterly, most recently on September 8, to discuss issues and make recommendations. The TSA has been incorporating a number of those recommendations.
Flight-training Initiatives
Chief among them are many of the ASAC recommendations surrounding the Alien Flight School Program, which was established shortly after 9/11 under the purview of the Department of Justice to create a vetting process for foreign students seeking flight training in the U.S. That program was shifted to the TSA and has been altered over the years to make it more workable. But the program still encountered problems, such as paperwork bureaucracies and delayed processing times.
The ASAC recommended that the TSA take a risk-based approach to the program, which would require rulemaking, and seeks to “modernize” the program with lessons learned since 9/11 and address industry best practices. Other proposals would clean up, strengthen and streamline the program, such as tightening coordination over visas and updating recording-keeping requirements of wet and dry leases. Those recommendations were made in July last year, and the TSA has since been working to implement them, the committee reported. Some might take longer if they require rulemaking, but by May, the committee said in meeting minutes, “the turn-around time for vetting of Alien Flight School applicants has improved and is now down to a few days.”
Recommendations in the Works
Beyond flight training initiatives, the subcommittee and the TSA have issued updated guidelines for users at and operators of general aviation airports. First assembled shortly after 9/11, the guidelines were in need of an update to take account of advancements in technologies and the addition of security programs/protocols.
The final document was formally released in July, providing a series of best security practices and recommending security enhancements based on the general aviation community’s analysis of perceived threats, areas of vulnerability and risk assessments. While they are not regulatory, the guidelines provide an array of options, ideas and suggestions such as providing a means to identify risks and determine security needs. The committee is also mulling improvements to the Twelve-Five Standard Security Program and the Private Charter Standard Security Program.
Outside the ASAC, industry has collaborated with the TSA separately, through industry meetings as well as through the participation of other working groups.
Discussions have continued around improvements to the DCA Access Standard Security Program (DASSP), including either the outright elimination or a prototype program to replace the requirement for an armed security officer requirement, the single biggest roadblock for business aircraft access to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The TSA has coordinated closely on this, but industry leaders recognize that the DASSP program involves multiple security agencies and layers of approval.
Also, business and general aviation organizations worked with the organization on adjustments to temporary flight restrictions, among them the one that hampered traffic in Palm Beach, Fla., during President Trump’s visits to Mar-A-Lago.
While still concerned about the restrictions involving those TFRs, business aviation leaders noted that the TSA was open to suggestions, and this resulted in the addition of a few gateways, as well as longer operating hours for vetting flights that were to fly into Palm Beach International Airport.
Business aviation advocates say dialogs continue in this area. However, one area that continues to languish is the Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP), which has been in the works for years. The original version of the program generated an outpouring of opposition, and for years the TSA has been working to develop an improved version. Industry leaders are on board with the development of a new, workable program because they believe it could provide a basis for access during security emergencies.
But with the regulatory review and the push to slow the proliferation of regulations under the new administration, few expect the LASP to make much progress any time soon. Nonetheless, the industry is encouraged by some of the progress made on security issues. In the past it had felt its issues were treated as the “crumbs on the floor” at the agency. But in recent years leaders have been much more encouraged by the interaction business aviation has had with the agency, even in a time of changeover.