Group makes recommendation to USDOT on small community air service challenges

Addressing the pilot shortage, partially a result of the “1,500-hour rule,” was one of the top priorities given by the Small Community Air Service Working Group, when it submitted its report to the U.S. Department of Transportation June 30.

Wyoming Department of Transportation Air Service Program Manager Sheri Taylor said reevaluating how the Federal Aviation Administration recognizes pathways to Restricted Air Transport Air Pilot certificates is key to maintaining and improving air services in rural states like Wyoming.

Taylor was one of 25 people appointed by Secretary Elaine Chao to serve on the working group, charged with addressing and finding solutions to the challenges of small community air service.

“One of the biggest issues with the pilot shortage is the new (FAA) regulations that came into effect in 2013,” Taylor said. The number of hours required for a Restricted Air Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate was increased from 250 to 1,500. This, coupled with impending pilot retirements, has made it difficult for small regional airlines to find pilots, she added.

While the group had 21 recommendations, the two primary recommendations to Congress to address the pilot shortage were to direct the FAA to:

• Reevaluate and increase the number of hours of credit awarded to academic pathways for the issuance of an ATP certificate. Congress should affirm that qualifying “academic” training should not be limited to military and aviation degree programs.
• Award substantial hours of credit toward a carrier‐specific and type‐specific Restricted ATP based on carrier‐specific and type‐specific training and testing. Effective implementation of both of these recommendations would re‐open the pathway for aspiring aviators to become competent professional airline pilots.

Currently, if a student obtains a two-year degree at an accredited aviation school, they will have 250 hours credited toward their ATP. A four-year degree will get a student to 500 credit hours, while a military pilot receives 750.

“What we’re doing is asking Congress to reiterate to the FAA that it can create other pathways toward the 1,500,” Taylor said. “Those pathways need to be deemed by the FAA as safe or safer than existing pathways.”

For instance, when an airline hires a pilot, the pilot is put through rigorous training. These instructional programs could be approved by the FAA as an alternative pathway to the required 1,500 hours.

“We want to create more pathways to encourage more potential pilots to take up a career in commercial aviation,” Taylor said. “We’re working hard to make it financially feasible for people to become pilots.”

WYDOT Aeronautics administrator Amy Surdam said the group also recommended that Congress act to preserve the Essential Air Service (EAS) program and increase funding for the Airport Improvement Program.

Taylor said the group concluded that the current rules governing EAS are overly restrictive and prevent communities with legitimate air service needs from accessing air service.

The mandate of the working group was to consider three subject areas:

• Current or potential new air service programs, including the EAS program and the Small Community Air Service Development program;
• Initiatives to help support pilot training and aviation safety;
• Whether federal funding for airports serving small communities is adequate.

For more information, contact WYDOT Senior Public Affairs Specialist J.L. O’Brien at 307-777-4439.