Aviation securityTSA: international trainees to be vetted only once annually
TSA says it will require foreign pilots to submit to a vetting process only once annually, regardless of the number of training events or variety of training organizations used; the change should reduce the bureaucratic burden on the pilots, training outfits, and the TSA itself
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is altering its rules to make it easier for foreign pilots to take recurrent training in the United States. The new policy is expected to take effect within days.
Currently, active foreign pilots with type ratings in large (>12,500 lb MTOW) aircraft must undergo a vetting process each time they want to come into the country for training. Thus, pilots with dual type ratings might have to go through the process twice or more annually.
The vetting involves applying online using English-language forms and can be time-consuming and frustrating for non-native speakers and costs $70.
Bill Garvey writes in Aviation Week that training organizations complained that such obstacles were off-putting to the trainees and could spur them to seek training outside the United States, negatively impacting their business, along with local hotels, restaurants, and such.
Now TSA says it will require foreign pilots to submit to the process only once annually, regardless of the number of training events or variety of training organizations used. The change should reduce the bureaucratic burden on the pilots, training outfits, and the TSA itself.
John Marino, vice president Defense Training Systems, FlightSafety International said that credit for the welcome change should go to Brian Delauter, the general aviation manager at TSA. He said Delauter championed the revised policy within the agency.
As of last Thursday, according to Marino, the policy change had been approved, though not yet published, and the agency was working to resolve some TSA Web site interface issues that might take a few days before the changes could take effect.
