American Airways’ pilots union is warning that it’s been monitoring a “vital 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 stated 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 examine flights after upkeep, amongst different points.
“Whereas United Airways is at the moment underneath public and authorities scrutiny, it might simply as simply be American Airways,” the memo stated. The union additionally stated airline workers look like underneath strain 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 stated union representatives have met with American’s administration staff to deal with their considerations.
“We secured administration’s dedication to contain the union earlier within the security threat evaluation (SRA) course of, and we’re likewise in search of a dedication that APA can have a seat on the desk for the whole high quality assurance course of,” Sicher’s letter stated. It additionally inspired members to proceed benefiting from inner reporting instruments in the event that they witness security or maintenance-related incidents.
American informed USA TODAY in an announcement that security stays a high precedence for the corporate.
“Security at any airline is a shared mission and it’s very true at American,” the assertion stated. “Our strong security program is guided by our industry-leading security administration system. It features a multitude of collaborative packages – 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 based mostly in New York. You’ll be able to attain him at zwichter@usatoday.com.