American Airways’ pilots union is warning that it’s been monitoring a “important spike” in security and upkeep points on the airline.
In a memo to its members that USA TODAY reviewed, the Allied Pilots Affiliation’s Security Committee mentioned it was seeing a development of instruments left in wheel wells after upkeep work was carried out, a rise in plane collisions on the bottom throughout towing operations, poor recordkeeping and abbreviated test flights after upkeep, amongst different points.
“Whereas United Airways is at the moment beneath public and authorities scrutiny, it may simply as simply be American Airways,” the memo mentioned. The union additionally mentioned airline workers seem like beneath stress to return plane to service in an effort to keep up flight schedules.
In a separate letter to the union’s members that USA TODAY reviewed, APA President Ed Sicher mentioned union representatives have met with American’s administration workforce to deal with their considerations.
“We secured administration’s dedication to contain the union earlier within the security danger evaluation (SRA) course of, and we’re likewise searching for a dedication that APA could have a seat on the desk for the complete high quality assurance course of,” Sicher’s letter mentioned. It additionally inspired members to proceed profiting from inside reporting instruments in the event that they witness security or maintenance-related incidents.
American instructed USA TODAY in a press release that security stays a prime precedence for the corporate.
“Security at any airline is a shared mission and it’s very true at American,” the assertion mentioned. “Our sturdy security program is guided by our industry-leading security administration system. It features a multitude of collaborative applications – and common touchpoints – with the FAA and all our unions, together with APA, to additional bolster our robust security document and improve our ever-evolving security tradition.”
Zach Wichter is a journey reporter for USA TODAY primarily based in New York. You’ll be able to attain him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
