By Capt. Dan Adamus, ALPA Canada Board President

As the largest nongovernmental aviation safety organization in the world, ALPA has long asserted that the best safety feature of any airplane is a well-trained, well-rested, highly motivated flight crew. For years, ALPA’s Canada Board has joined together with Canadian officials and aviation stakeholders in a tremendous effort to develop flight-and duty-time regulations and minimum-rest requirements for airline pilots that are based on sound science.

Today, ALPA released a new white paper titled Keep America Flying: A Flight Plan for Safe and Fair Skies. It lays out reasoned and achievable policy solutions to enhance aviation safety and provide a strong and fair economic environment for U.S. airlines and their employees. Safety and security topics detailed in the white paper include airline pilot supply, unmanned aircraft systems, NextGen, safe air transport of lithium batteries, secondary cockpit barriers, science-based fatigue rules for all-cargo pilots, and the Federal Flight Deck Officer program.

In addition, ALPA’s Keep America Flying flight plan underscores the need to ensure that U.S. airlines and U.S. airline workers have a fair and equal opportunity to compete in the global marketplace. Economic policy subjects discussed in the union’s white paper include flag-of-convenience and other atypical business practices, upholding the promise of Open Skies, and reforming the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

On July 16, I testified before members of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Transportation Security about our union’s support for the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) as a key element in a multi-layered, risk-based approach to aviation security that also includes advancing the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program and installing secondary cockpit barriers on passenger airliners.

In a May 20 speech before the International Aviation Club of Washington, D.C., I affirmed our union’s determined call for North American government leaders and lawmakers to advance the U.S. airline industry and its workers by safeguarding fair competition in the global marketplace and fostering air transportation modernization by passing a clean Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization.

As ALPA’s first national officer who comes from an all-cargo carrier, I know from experience the unique challenges faced by pilots who fly freight. As the union’s first vice president and national safety coordinator, I also witness the common commitment to safety, pilot assistance, and security all ALPA pilots share, regardless of what they carry on their aircraft.