House Committee Passes Garamendi’s Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act

On November 20, Congressmen John Garamendi (D-CA), a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, applauded the committee’s passage of his bipartisan “Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2019” (H.R.4374) as part of a comprehensive bill (H.R.5119) pertaining to safety standards at foreign repair stations.

The “Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2019” (H.R.4374) would require airlines to disclose the maintenance history for their aircraft fleets, specifically the location and date an aircraft underwent heavy maintenance — the most comprehensive test for an aircraft. Airlines would also be required to submit an annual report to a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database that tracks the maintenance history of their aircraft fleets. The database will also indicate whether maintenance was conducted in the United States or abroad; by FAA-certified mechanics or not; or by airline employees or third-party contractors.

Recent airline accidents raise serious concerns about the increasing trend of outsourcing maintenance, particularly to countries in Central America and Southeast Asia. These foreign outsourcers do not have to be FAA certified, and are not subject to the drug and alcohol testing required in the United States for mechanics. Outsourcing has also eliminated thousands of middle-class jobs in the United States and created significant safety concerns for passengers.

“At my first hearing as a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I asked the CEOs of several major airlines if their planes were maintained in the United States. Sadly, none of them knew the answer. Airline passengers have the right to expect that the planes they fly on are maintained under the highest possible safety standards by qualified mechanics,” says Congressman Garamendi. “My bipartisan bill prioritizes transparency so that FAA regulators and the public know who services the planes they fly on and where the service takes place.” 

“I’m pleased that the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed this critical legislation, and I thank Chairman DeFazio for including my bill in the committee’s larger legislative package,” Garamendi concludes. 

Congressman Garamendi’s “Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2019” (H.R.4374) is endorsed by the Transport Workers Union of America, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Airlines Division), Business Travel Coalition, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants.