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The FAA rejected a proposal by a major regional airline to cut in half the number of hours its pilots would need to obtain licenses, the agency said Monday, refusing to grant an exemption to safety rules with potentially far-reaching implications.
The airline operates a fleet of 200 Embraer jets, conducting about 1,000 flights a day on behalf of the regional brands of American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. In its original petition, Republic cast the request as an opportunity to boost diversity among the ranks of pilots, creating a lower-cost way to get qualified.
“Sluggish industry progress toward diversification of cockpit participation calls for a renewed industry-wide commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Republic wrote. “This is clearly a broken pipeline.” The petition was being closely watched by other airlines, labor groups and lawmakers. The Regional Airline Association trade group weighed in to support Republic, while the Air Line Pilots Association urged the FAA to stick by the 1,500-hour rule. The association has blamed difficulty recruiting pilots for service cuts to rural communities, a number of which have . In formal comments to the FAA, it argued that Republic’s approach would produce safer pilots than would requiring a set number of flight hours. The association said Monday it was reviewing the FAA’s decision.“It is the mission of all airlines to have robust safety programs and to improve flight training on a continuous basis,” said Faye Malarkey Black, the association’s chief executive. “The first focus must be safety. Expanding structured training pathways would improve access for people who can’t access a pilot career today.” The FAA questioned the evidence for a link between pilot flying time requirements and airlines’ recruitment pipelines, adding that it wasn’t the agency’s responsibility to resolve airlines’ hiring challenges. “The FAA has previously concluded that the argument that an exemption would serve to address a pilot shortage is overly simplistic,” the agency wrote. While the FAA’s ruling indicates the agency won’t entertain efforts to find ways around the 1,500-hour rule, debate over the requirement is likely to continue. The rule was imposed by Congress, which is set to reconsider a host of aviation laws next year. Lawmakers are also exploring other ways to boost the supply of pilots, with Sen. Lindsey O. Graham and other Republicans proposing
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