On this Veterans Day and Remembrance Day, ALPA is proud to recognize the men and women who have served in the United States and Canadian military. Throughout these nations’ histories, servicemen and women have helped to safeguard our countries and their citizens’ freedom and the democratic way of life.

While veterans grant security to every citizen in Canada and the United States, the military is strongly connected with the airline industry. Many airline pilots like myself learned to fly while serving in the armed forces. After their service, many military pilots elect to apply their skills and experience as airline pilots flying passengers and cargo for commercial airlines.

Even while working in the U.S. airline industry, many pilots proudly support the U.S. military through their airlines’ participation in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program. Today, many airlines with ALPA-represented pilots commit to help our nations and fellow citizens by providing airlift when needed to support humanitarian and defense missions, both internationally and domestically.

By Capt. Joe DePete

Today, I had the privilege of helping to host ALPA’s Air Cargo Symposium. This one-day event provided a rare opportunity to hear from experts from across aviation’s all-cargo sector on ways improve safety and security for this vital segment of the transportation industry. 

Along with ALPA President Capt. Tim Canoll, we welcomed FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Christopher Hart who addressed attendees, and those viewing the live webcast, on collaborative and innovative efforts to increase cargo safety and productivity.

Thank you to Leadership from the Cockpit followers for submitting great questions for our new “Ask a Pilot” segment. The topic today is unmanned aircraft systems (you may know them as “drones”)—a hot issue on Capitol Hill and in news headlines across the country. Capt. Tim Canoll, ALPA’s president, provides the answers to three interesting questions from followers. 

Earlier today, I testified before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee's Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Subcommittee and discussed the urgent need to address all aspects of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations in order to protect the safety of the U.S. national airspace system.

This was the second time this month that ALPA was called to Capitol Hill regarding this important issue, allowing us the opportunity to reiterate the importance for Congress to direct the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to regulate all operations of UAS, including recreational and hobby use.

While ALPA supports advancing America’s competitiveness through the use of UAS, safety is paramount. Recently, we launched a four-part action plan to safely integrate UAS with focused efforts on education, registration, technology, and penalties, and enforcement.

The all-cargo airline environment is fast-paced, dynamic, and faces numerous unique risk-management challenges. On November 5, ALPA is hosting a one-day Air Cargo Symposium, “Outside the Box: Better Ideas for Air Cargo Safety and Security,” where we will explore ways to improve safety and security for this vital segment of the transportation industry.