Teamsters Call for Uniform Standard

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Airline Division is asking Congress to strengthen oversight of domestic and foreign repair stations that conduct work for U.S. airlines by establishing a single regulatory standard. The comments follow Southwest Airlines grounding 46 jets on Saturday after FAA discovered unauthorized exhaust gate assembly hinge fittings installed on the aircraft. The incident illustrates that “passengers need assurance that no matter where repair work is accomplished, there is a single high standard that applies to repair station practices and a single standard for regulatory oversight,” the Teamsters noted. David Bourne, IBT Airline Division director, says the union has been working with Congress on “a coherent, single and enforceable standard for all aircraft maintenance work, no matter where such work is performed; such a standard does not exist today.”
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