(Warwick, R.I.) Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI) today continued his fight to ensure the safety of passengers flying internationally on domestic airlines. Langevin, joined by Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee, Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), and 12 other colleagues, recently signed a bipartisan letter urging the Government Accountability Office to examine the security vulnerabilities of foreign repair stations that perform work on U.S. registered aircraft and the potential for terrorist sabotage of such aircraft.

“Sadly, terrorist organizations have a history of using airplanes as a means to carry out their activities,” said Langevin, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Nuclear and Biological Attack. “Since 2003 we have been waiting for the Transportation Security Administration to create uniform safety standards for maintenance work done at foreign repair stations.  While the TSA continues to drag its feet on issuing regulations, I have continued to push for this safety and security loophole to be closed, through various amendments and now this letter.”

U.S. carriers have outsourced over 50 percent of the repair and maintenance of their aircrafts, according to the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General.  Today, there are about 650 foreign aircraft repair stations that work on U.S. commercial planes, as compared to just 200 such stations in 1988.  Some of these repair stations are located in countries whose lax standards may pose legitimate security risks to the United States, and discrepancies continue to exist with the security standards of foreign facilities as compared to domestic. 

“TSA’s responsibility to protect aviation security does not stop at the curbside of the airport,” said Bennie G. Thompson, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee.  “TSA was directed under law to issue regulations to ensure the security of foreign and domestic repair stations that service passenger aircraft in 2003.  Yet it has made no measurable progress on issuing these critical regulations.  In the wake of the London plot, it is imperative that TSA build in systems to prevent a would-be terrorist, posing as a mechanic, from exploiting their unfettered access to aircraft to sabotage it or plant a bomb.”

While standards and procedures have been established to enhance the security of our nation’s airlines, these standards have not been adequately extended to contract repair stations, and TSA, despite specific mandates passed by Congress in 2003, has done nothing to address this problem. Currently foreign repair stations do not follow the same security maintenance standards or employee requirements as domestic stations. Vision 100, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act, required TSA to complete a final rule imposing security standards on foreign and domestic aircraft repair stations by August 6, 2004.  Over two years later, TSA has done little to address this critical security issue.

“The Administration has ignored a clear Congressional mandate and abdicated its responsibilities to secure contract repair stations working on U.S. aircraft,” said Edward Wytkind, president of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO.  “In fact, TSA is now over two years delinquent in issuing security rules for third-party maintenance facilities and performing audits of oversea stations.  Americans deserve to know when the government agency entrusted with their safety and security is skirting its responsibility to protect the traveling public.”
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