U.S. airlines request additional time for the installation of secondary cockpit barriers
Airlines for America (A4A), the trade association representing the leading U.S. passenger airlines, filed a formal petition with the Department of Transportation (DOT) on May 5, 2025, seeking a swift and limited exemption from federal regulations requiring the installation and operation of Installed Physical Secondary Barriers (IPSB) in aircraft flight decks.
The rule, part of the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act and finalized in June 2023, mandates that transport-category aircraft manufactured after August 25, 2025, must be equipped with an IPSB. The barrier must be deployed (closed and locked) whenever the cockpit door is open during flight.
However, A4A argues that its members face “impossible compliance, at worst, or extreme difficulty, at best.” The primary reason is that, as of the filing date, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) had yet to receive FAA certification for any IPSB design that meets the regulation’s criteria.
Without certified equipment, OEMs cannot publish operational manuals, procedures, or training recommendations. In turn, airlines are unable to develop the required training programs, gain FAA approval, or implement them before the looming deadline. A4A warns that the entire process—from equipment certification to full crew training (involving tens of thousands of pilots and flight attendants)—could take up to 24 months, making the current timeline “impossible.”
On behalf of member airlines including Alaska, American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United, A4A is requesting a two-year exemption from the operational and training requirements related to the IPSB (specifically 14 C.F.R. §§ 121.313(l), 121.401(a), and 121.584(a)(3)). During this period, airlines propose to continue using current supplemental security procedures, which they claim provide an equivalent level of safety—as demonstrated over the past two decades.
A4A emphasizes that the situation is beyond the airlines’ control and that enforcing compliance without certified equipment and proper training would ground new aircraft, disrupt air service, and fail to serve the public interest.
The petition also calls for an expedited review, urging the FAA to skip the public comment period and issue a decision by June 25, 2025. This would prevent airlines from having to preemptively launch potentially inadequate and costly training programs.
As of now, there is no public update on the FAA’s response or the current certification status of IPSB systems from manufacturers.
Comentarios
Para comentar, debés estar registrado
Por favor, iniciá sesión