![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_4876edit2.jpg\")
Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Angus King (I-Maine.)\nintroduced the Promoting the Launch of Aviation\u2019s Next Era (PLANE) Act of 2019,\nS.2198, on July 23. The bipartisan legislation will benefit general aviation by\nempowering pilots, investing in airports, and ensuring opportunities for a\nsustainable well-trained workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a growing demand for aviation jobs and Boeing\u2019s Pilot\nand Technician Outlook predicting a need for more than 800,000 new pilots and\n750,000 new aviation technicians in the next 20 years, the PLANE Act addresses\nchallenges within the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the letter, the groups wrote, \u201cWhile almost 50,000 more\npilots have joined the aviation community since 2016, pilots continue to face\nchallenges and barriers to flying. This legislation keeps individual pilots in\nthe left seat by empowering their engagement with the Federal Aviation\nAdministration regarding their airman certificate, medical certification, or\nwhen the aviation community is subject to FAA rulemaking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The legislation allows for more transparency by ensuring\nthat the NTSB has the authority to review the denial of an airman medical\ncertificate by the FAA, an airman may reapply for a certificate without an\nunnecessary wait period, and FAA designees are allowed the same due process\nprotections enjoyed by pilots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PLANE Act also notes the importance of GA airports by\nensuring that existing funding is directed to airports for which they were\nintended, and the bill would provide for the designation of some airports as\ndisaster relief locations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
AOPA President and CEO Mark Baker thanked the senators for\nintroducing the much-needed legislation. \u201cSen. Inhofe has been a longtime\nsupporter of general aviation and we thank him and Sen. King for their\nrelentless work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of the legislation he said, \u201cThe PLANE Act truly\nsets a positive path for the future of the aviation industry. This legislation\nenhances legal protections for pilots that must contend with the federal\nbureaucracy, requires additional transparency when FAA makes decisions\nimpacting aviation stakeholders and promotes investment at general aviation\nairports\u2014the backbone of our national aviation system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
King also spoke of the bill\u2019s importance to local economies,\nsuch as his home state of Maine. \u201cFor rural Maine communities, general aviation\nis a vital lifeline \u2013 both literally and economically. This legislation would\nmake important investments in this pillar of our nation\u2019s transportation system\nand would cut through bureaucratic burdens, so these airports, the men and\nwomen who operate them, and the pilots who travel to and from them can continue\nproviding vital services to rural Maine people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with AOPA, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Allied Pilots Association, Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, Experimental Aircraft Association, Helicopter Association International, National Agricultural Aviation Association, National Air Transportation Association, National Business Aviation Association, NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, and U.S. Contract Tower Association signed onto the letter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) along with 12 other aviation stakeholder groups, including the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), announced their support for the PLANE Act of 2019 in a July 22 letter supporting the new bill. Senators Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Angus King (I-Maine.) introduced the Promoting the Launch of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-oklahoma"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13370"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13372,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13370\/revisions\/13372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}