Jumpseat policy-a change?
Extract from Air Intelligence, lets hope this is a positive sign for the UK too.
TSA gives green light to cockpit jumpseat test plan
Mary Kirby, Washington DC (01Aug03, 15:03 GMT, 231 words)
US airline pilots and other authorized personnel may soon be able to use offline cockpit jumpseats again following a ban since the 11 September terrorist attacks.
In a letter to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) union, US Transportation Security Administration administrator James Loy confirms that the TSA, US FAA and Air Transport Association (ATA) are preparing to move forward with a six-month test program to determine whether use of offline jumpseats should be made permanent.
In the aftermath of 11 September 2001, the US government banned pilots from occupying jumpseats when not traveling on their own airline's aircraft, or those of their codeshare partners.
Since then, a committee spearheaded by ALPA in conjunction with the ATA and FAA, has developed a proposal for US airlines to use a shared computer database system to identify a jumpseat applicant and verify his or her employment with a carrier.
Under the test program, use of the jumpseat would be permitted for ATA airline employees, air traffic controllers and other FAA employees, plus Department of Defense couriers.
The test program is a way of "just getting back to where we were" before 11 September, says ALPA vice president and jumpseat coalition leader Dennis Dolan.
Loy says the TSA, ATA and FAA are working to outline the framework for the pilot program, participants, responsibilities, performance metrics and timetable. He expects final approval by 10 August.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news