Steps the FAA Has Taken to Address COVID-19’s Impact on the Aviation Industry

The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has made a wide range of policy actions in response to the coronavirus pandemic. One such regulatory change was that they announced that they would not take action against pilots whose medical certificates expired between March 31st and June 30th, due to the difficulty of scheduling appointments with certified Aviation Medical Examiners, as well as due to the determination that to do so was to unnecessarily disrupt an already decreased supply of qualified pilots, including the reduced number of personnel available to administer required training, checking, and testing. With the cessation of many non-essential aviation training and testing activities caused by the pandemic, many individuals have been unable to complete certain activities before encountering expiration dates.

This extension has been further extended another three months — until September 30th. However, the FAA encourages airmen to continue taking their medical certification exam with an FAA AME at this time, as regularly required. You can read more about this ruling on the Federal Register website. If you are still able to comply with the FAA’s recommendation of getting your pilot medical certification renewed at this time, you can contact Dr. Johnson, Federal AME, HIMS AME.

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Overview of the Impact of COVID-19 on the Aviation Industry

Pilot medical regulation is not the only aspect of the impact of COVID-19’s impact on the aviation industry. That is the result of a long chain reaction of effects that have been occurring since the pandemic began.

On a macro, consumer-side level, the slump in demand and travel restrictions had a major impact in aviation, with massively reduced revenues forcing many airlines to lay off employees or declare bankruptcy. Flight cancellations have also been high, with 10% of all flights canceled in March as well as 80% of flights having to deal with universal flight movement restrictions.

Another effect was in the cost of shipping through air freight. By late March, the cost of shipping by air across the Pacific Ocean tripled. This was due to the lag between cargo capacity’s decline to cargo demand’s reduction, where demand stayed higher than capacity reduction. However, the cargo shortage is expected to disappear if the economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 contracts to the degree expected by the WTO (between 13% and 32%).

The airline traffic drop is expected to be around 50% in 2020, with projected revenue drops of $314 billion. During the 2008-2009 financial crisis, airlines lost about $30 billion dollars — the expected losses from the current financial crisis are projected by the International Air Transport Association to be $84.3 billion.

As you might expect, the manufacturing sector of the aircraft industry experienced plummeting demand. As a result, they enacted measures such as:

  • Hiring freezes

  • Layoffs

  • Management restructuring

  • Production halting

  • Termination of new ventures

  • Mass furloughs

The FAA’s response to the economic crisis involves a wide array of regulatory updates.

FAA Regulatory Changes Due to Coronavirus

You can read the complete list of regulatory updates taken by the FAA here. Here are some of the updates that you may want to know:

That last one is of greatest relevance to most of our readers, so let’s focus in on the details here:

Pilot Medical Certificate Exemptions

The FAA requires, under 14 CFR part 67, all pilot flight crewmembers on civil aircrafts to hold the appropriate unexpired medical certificate. The duration of time a certificate remains unexpired varies between class of certification, type of operation, and other factors. Typically, a pilot or flight engineer may only fly as long as their medical certificate is unexpired. To renew or receive a new certificate, a person must submit to a medical examination given by an FAA-licensed aviation medical examiner.

Due to the fact that FAA medical examinations are non-emergency services, following the recommendations of the CDC, medical certification requirements for pilots who did not comply with medical certification duration standards between March 31st and June 30th will not suffer legal enforcement actions. This was later extended until the end of September.

To quote from the official enforcement policy announcement:

“The FAA has determined that those persons subject to this temporary measure may operate beyond the validity period of their medical certificate during the effective period of this accommodation without creating a risk to aviation safety that is unacceptable under the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In Summary: COVID-19’s Impact On The Enforcement of Expiring Medical Certificates

COVID-19 has severely impacted the aviation industry in a number of ways, many of which are still unknown and to come in the future. In compliance with social distancing recommendations, as well as for other reasons such as reducing the disruption in critical aviation operations, the FAA has taken measures to provide relief for pilots from having to visit an aviation medical examiner. However, this is a temporary situation, and certification exams are still required. The safety of passengers and other aviation professionals is protected by 14 CFR part 67. If it’s time to get your aviation medical certificate renewed, contact us today for more information or to get started.