by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:00 PM ET, Wed June 14, 2023
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on
Wednesday that it would require a secondary barrier on the flight deck of new
commercial airplanes.
Designed to ensure the safety of aircraft, flight crew and passengers,
the secondary barrier rule will protect flight decks from intrusion when the
flight deck door is open.
Once the requirement goes into effect, airplane
manufacturers must install secondary barriers in all commercial aircraft. The
rule was initially proposed in 2022 by the FAA after seeking recommendations
from manufacturers and labor partners.
“Every day, pilots and flight crews transport millions of
Americans safely - and today we are taking another important step to make sure
they have the physical protections they deserve,” United States Transportation
Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.
The new rule meets a requirement of the 2018 FAA
Reauthorization Act.
“No pilot should have to worry about an intrusion on the
flight deck,” acting FAA Associate Administrator for Safety David Boulter said.
The decision to implement the secondary barriers comes as
new data showed the number of reported unruly
passenger incidents increased in 2022. According to analysis from the IATA,
there was an average of one disruptive passenger incident per 568 flights last
year, an increase from the one-per-835 flights reported in 2021.
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