U.S. politicians are poised to provoke Europe to take retaliatory action if they press through a proposal in the U.S. Congress to require the Federal Aviation Administration to inspect foreign repair stations twice a year, according to the head of the U.S. Aerospace Industries Association. “We have great concern about that aspect of the FAA reauthorization bill,” said AIA president and CEO Marion Blakey.
“We have protested it very strongly because we believe…that it is unnecessary, that there are strong safeguards in the system to oversee repair stations, both foreign and domestic.”
If enacted, she told AIN, the legislation will provoke the European Aviation Safety Agency to begin similar requirements in the U.S., and they will begin attempting to oversee U.S. repair stations. It essentially violates the bilateral safety agreements that have been working very, very well for quite a long time, AIA contends.
