Aviation maintenance group hits TSA for 'inaction' on securing international repair facilities

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken too long to establish security rules for overseas airplane repair stations, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) said Tuesday.

The Alexandria, Va.-based ARSA said the hold up, which it attributed to "bureaucratic foot-dragging," was resulting in delays in the ability of American airplane maintenance company to establish footholds into "expanding overseas markets."

"ARSA members are paying the price for bureaucratic foot-dragging and a poorly thought-out policy,” ARSA Vice President of Legislative Affairs Daniel Fisher said in a statement.

The ARSA said is necessary to establish security procedures for international airplane repair stations because Congress has barred the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from issuing certifications for new facilities until the TSA created a framework for keeping them secure.
 
The group said "[T]he ban is an unprecedented example of punishing industry for a federal agency’s inaction.

"U.S. aviation companies are barred from tapping into rapidly expanding overseas markets, which is hindering job creation and growth at home," the ARSA said in a statement.

TSA referred questions about the international airplane repair stations to the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill. 

---