FAA to Extend Aircraft
Registration Duration
In mid-November, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted a draft of a direct final rule to extend the duration of aircraft registration certificates from three to seven years. Per the draft, “Initial Certificates of Aircraft Registration will expire seven years from the month issued. In addition, the FAA is applying this amendment to all aircraft currently registered under existing FAA regulations governing aircraft registration, which will extend valid Certificates of Aircraft Registration to a seven-year duration. This rulemaking also makes other minor revisions to rules related to internal FAA registration processes.’’
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) “welcomed” the FAA ruling with its Director of Flight Operations and Regulations Brian Koester stating, “The new rule comes with tangible benefits that will help drive convenience and efficiency for business aircraft owners.”
According to the NBAA, the policy change, which was required by the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act, provides two types of relief for aircraft owners. First, the change to a seven-year registration period will greatly reduce the number of applications for ownership renewals awaiting FAA approval at any given time, thereby drawing down the agency’s administrative burden, and expediting the approval of renewals. Second, the rule expands authority for aircraft owners to operate beyond the registration renewal date from 90 days following expiration to 12 months – a timeframe that should cover any renewal delays stemming from agency backlogs.
The FAA will accept comments on the ruling 30 days from when it’s published in the Federal Register and it will become effective 60 days from publication.
CBAA, NBAA Express Concerns with
Ligado Canada Implementation Proposal
The Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) and the NBAA partnered recently to express concerns with a Ligado Canada application to operate an Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) in a band that could negatively impact aviation safety.
Ligado Canada submitted its application to operate the ATC in the L-band – essentially the band adjacent to bands used by the aviation sector. The company has conducted similar operations in the U.S., though at much lower power levels.
In a letter to Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada, the associations explained, “Ligado Canada proposes to operate an ATC in a manner similarly to how they have been authorized by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to operate in the U.S., however, Ligado Canada’s application is for significantly higher power levels (~82 times greater) and relaxed Out-Of-Band-Emissions limits.”
“Preliminary analysis has demonstrated that the Ligado proposal is likely to have an adverse effect on aviation,” said Robert Sincennes, CBAA’s vice president of regulatory affairs, which corresponds to U.S. data supported by the FAA that indicates there is a clear adverse effect. “We are asking the ISED to reject the Ligado Canada application at any power level until such a time as aviation safety concerns are resolved.”
The power levels presumably must be higher in order to provide adequate coverage to remote areas of the country.
“The U.S. has a long history with Ligado implementation,” said Heidi Williams, NBAA’s senior director, air traffic services and infrastructure. “At lower power levels, as proposed in the U.S., data shows there will be aviation impacts. Now consider the impacts at a much greater scale.”
Source: NBAA
Canadian Business Organizations Request Restoration of NEXUS and FAST
In early November, over 50 Canadian business organizations signed a letter to the Hon. Marco Mendicino, P.C., M.P. Minister of Public Safety of Canada and the Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security requesting that the two countries “demonstrate the creativity and commitment to urgently resolve the outstanding issues” to reopen NEXUS and the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) programs.
Over two decades ago, the Prime Minister of Canada and the President of the United States announced NEXUS – a safe and secure way for citizens of both countries to cross the border more securely and efficiently by “pre-clearing” them.
The letter states that both “the Canadian and American economies have benefited enormously from the expedited and enhanced security protocols.” Trusted Traveler programs like NEXUS and the FAST program have “allowed citizens and goods to pass across our shared border more efficiently at the same time as they enhanced security by allowing government border security resources to be deployed where they are most needed, focusing on unknown people and goods, as opposed to hindering low-risk travelers and carriers at our borders.”
In 2019 U.S. tourists visiting Canada reached 25 million and Canadians took 44 million trips to the United States.