NATA News

On February 22, 2018, the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Synthesis 86: Airport Operator Options for Delivery of FBO Services was published on the TRB’s webpage. The synthesis outlines the current structure of the FBO industry, the various FBO business models, FBO leases, and local community considerations that should be applied when choosing an FBO model at a given airport.  NATA proudly served on the project panel that provided input and recommendations on this synthesis and we believe this is a valuable source of information for airport sponsors and aeronautical service providers.

Last week, NATA held the second in its series of 2018 Industry Town Hall meetings at Austin Executive Airport in Texas. NATA Managing Director, Safety and Training Michael France was joined by regional aviation business professionals from airports, FBOs, MROs, flight training providers and university aviation programs. The group discussed an array of topics, including staffing challenges, attracting the next generation of aviation business leaders and the impact of drones on general aviation. The town hall also covered flight training, regulatory consistency and NFPA 409 Foam requirement issues.

Privatization of our nation’s air traffic control system will be felt at every level and has potential negative implications for all users of the national airspace system. NATA would like to share your views on how this detrimental proposal would impact your aviation business in NATA communications and on our social media channels. Your comments assist NATA in representing your business and showing Congress, from your perspective, that ALL users of the system will be impacted. Make your voice heard by submitting a few lines to rmullholland@nata.aero, your comments may be attributed or just mention city and state.

NATA Safety 1^st is currently redeveloping its online training content to incorporate improvements and new features suggested by our members and users. As part of this process, we are seeking new photographs of ground handling activities, such as aircraft fuel and oil servicing, quality control checks, and towing operations.

NATA’s Safety 1^st Advanced Line Service Workshops are in full swing for 2018! Our latest workshop was held at Ross Aviation in Long Beach, CA. The two-day event included sessions on motivation and leadership techniques, customer service training, misfueling prevention, SPCC training, and the impact of human factors on aviation ground handling.

Guest speakers Rick Spencer of Peco-Facet and Keith Clark of Phillips 66 also led discussions on aviation fuel filtration and quality control. Attendees received hands-on fire extinguisher training during a live fire demonstration conducted by Hedrick Fire Services. NATA would like to thank Greg McQueary, Valerie Boes and all the staff at Ross Aviation Long Beach for making this event possible.

NATA's 2018 Annual Meeting and Aviation Business Conference takes place June 12-14, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt Washington. The conference kicks off with a reception Tuesday evening and concludes Thursday afternoon. Early bird registration is now open and runs through Friday, April 6, 2018 — save $95!

Sponsorship opportunities are available starting at $250. For more information, please visit www.nata.aero/abc.

In its latest blog post, NATA Compliance Services analyzes the growing opioid issue within the United States and its impact on the aviation industry. Effective January 1, 2018 the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) implemented changes to its drug program regulations. Of these changes, one of them expanded its drug testing panel to include the following four semi-synthetic opioids:

-       Hydrocodone

-       Hydromorphone

-       Oxycodone

-       Oxymorphone

Register now for the 2018 Air Charter Safety Foundation Safety Symposium at the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn, VA. The event takes place March 13-14, 2018. The Symposium is the annual gathering of the air charter and business aviation industry where current and emerging safety challenges are reviewed and discussed. This year’s theme is "Promoting the Highest Levels of Aviation Safety.” For more information, please click here.