ALPA pilots this week continued to encourage their elected officials to vote for secondary cockpit barrier language in the upcoming FAA reauthorization legislation. Through an ALPA-wide Call to Action, pilots reached out directly to Capitol Hill on the importance of these proven, effective, and efficient layers of security for the cockpit.
In a post earlier this year, Capt. Jerry Timmerman highlighted the merits of secondary cockpit barriers. These lightweight devices, installed between the passenger cabin and the cockpit door, are easy to deploy and stow. They successfully and efficiently block access to the flight deck whenever the reinforced door is opened in flight.
Pilots were joined in their call for these inexpensive devices to be mandated on passenger aircraft last month when Representative André Carson (D-IN) introduced an amendment in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which was unanimously adopted, that would install these barriers on passenger aircraft.
As Congress continues work on the FAA reauthorization, ALPA will continue to push to ensure that all passenger aircraft be equipped with a secondary barrier as a necessary layer of security.