TSA Announces Meeting On Repair Station Security

Believe it or not, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is finally getting around to listening to the people it’s trying to regulate. For most of the agency’s life, the first many people knew about a new aviation security regulation was when its final version was published and made effective. But, if you’ve ever reviewed a proposed Airworthiness Directive or written the FAA about a pending rule change, you know that’s not the way federal regulations are supposed to be developed. Instead, the TSA yesterday published a notice that it was seeking public comment, and would hold a public meeting on security at foreign and domestic aircraft repair stations.

Believe it or not, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is finally getting around to listening to the people it's trying to regulate. For most of the agency's life, the first many people knew about a new aviation security regulation was when its final version was published and made effective. But, if you've ever reviewed a proposed Airworthiness Directive or written the FAA about a pending rule change, you know that's not the way federal regulations are supposed to be developed. Instead, the TSA yesterday published a notice that it was seeking public comment, and would hold a public meeting on security at foreign and domestic aircraft repair stations.

According to the TSA, recent legislation directs the agency to issue such a regulation. Therefore, the TSA is scheduling a public meeting to discuss the new requirement with air carriers, airports, repair facility operators and other stakeholders, and invites comments from the participants. The public meeting will be held on Feb. 27, 2004, at 1 p.m., in Arlington, Va. Persons not able to attend a meeting are invited to provide written comments, which must be received by March 29, 2004.