The FAA has fast-tracked a final rule mandating drug and alcohol testing in non-U.S. repair stations approved to work on U.S. aircraft, giving industry three years to comply with the long-debated requirements.
A final rule set for publication Dec. 18 satisfies a 14-year-old congressional mandate and attempts to walk a fine line between imposing U.S.-based requirements in non-U.S. jurisdictions and closing what some claim is a gap in safety regulations.
“The final rule directs the repair station to comply with the requirements of the Drug and Alcohol Testing Program published by the FAA and the Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug Testing Programs published by the Department of Transportation, as proposed,” the FAA said in the rule’s preamble. “However, this final rule also allows foreign governments, on behalf of certificated repair stations within their territories, and individual foreign repair stations subject to the rule to obtain the [FAA] administrator’s recognition of a compatible alternative that contains minimum criteria in lieu of compliance with certain components of the” FAA’s program.
The ability to develop a rule that takes foreign regulations into account has been one of the most debated aspects of satisfying U.S. lawmakers’ mandate. The Aeronautical Repair Station Association, in comments on December 2023’s draft rule, expressed concern that the FAA’s proposed waiver approach created more hurdles.
“The agency set no objective standard for obtaining an exemption or waiver,” ARSA said in its comments, adding that U.S. law may not protect foreign nationals. “The burden of imposing U.S. laws on another nation’s citizens cannot be overstated; it is the right of every nation to set standards for its citizens,” it added.
The FAA’s response is to permit foreign governments to submit waiver requests on behalf of repair stations in their countries. This approach is unlikely to satisfy ARSA and others with similar concerns, as the burden of determining compliance with U.S. law would still likely fall on foreign repair stations, in collaboration with their governments, rather than on the U.S.
“The agency has attempted to address many practical and legal concerns raised during the rulemaking by permitting foreign governments to petition for country-level waivers,” ARSA Executive Vice President Christian Klein said. “But that won’t prevent the massive diversion of resources as industry and governments attempt to comply.”
The rule’s compliance date is December 20, 2027, or about three years from publication. The draft rule proposed a one-year compliance window.
Testing at U.S.-based shops has been required since the early 1990s and was expanded to subcontractors in 2006. Congress in 2012 called for expansion of testing to FAA-approved shops outside the U.S. but several efforts over the last decade stalled. In 2024, Congress renewed its call for the requirements and gave the FAA 18 months to deliver.
FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker called the rule “an important step in our safety mission because few countries require testing of aviation maintenance personnel.”
The Transportation Workers Union (TWU), one of several labor groups who have long called for testing in all FAA shops, not just domestic ones, hailed its passage
“This closes a major safety gap that the Transport Workers Union has fought to end for decades,” said TWU International President John Samuelsen. “And because the cost of drug and alcohol testing discourages airlines from farming repair work abroad, it creates an opportunity for more jobs to be done by qualified mechanics in America.”
The rule will affect about 960 repair stations in 66 countries, the FAA said, citing 2023 data. Total costs to affected repair stations range from $65,000 to $12.1 million per year, depending on how many submit waivers vs develop full-scale programs.
The rule does not include an associated safety risk analysis because the agency “does not have the data” to conduct one, it said. “The FAA acknowledges it is aware of no accidents or incidents related to safety-sensitive maintenance personnel using drugs or misusing alcohol,” the agency added.
“The rule is a congressionally mandated solution to a problem that doesn’t exist,” ARSA’s Klein said. “The FAA itself acknowledges there isn’t enough data to articulate the benefits.”
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