Moves to allow US airline pilots to carry guns seem almost certain to fail now the Bush administration has said it does not back the idea.
US Transportation Security Agency chief John Magaw made the government's view known last week in an apparent bid to pre-empt a congressional hearing due later that week on the proposed Arming Pilots Against Terrorism Act. The hearing was later postponed.
The bill, strongly supported by the Air Line Pilots Association and Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, would allow pilots to carry firearms on a voluntary basis. The unions continue to support the bill, but admit the decision is a setback.
"It's not a fatal blow, but it won't help," says a Congressional source. Even if the bill gets through Congress, it has to be signed by the president to become law, and Magaw's announcement signals the Bush administration's view.
Arming pilots has become a highly controversial issue in the USA since the 11 September attacks, with opposing sides divided on how best to protect cockpits against possible future attacks. The majority of US pilots want guns as their last line of defence.Airlines oppose the idea, citing extra training costs and worries about accidental shootings or the guns falling into the wrong hands. International Air Transport Association director general Pierre Jeanniot backs Magaw's no-guns line.
Some airlines - notably United Airlines and Mesa Air Group - support arming pilots with less-than-lethal weapons such as taser stun guns, which are also banned. The US government is still deciding whether to change that policy.
Source: Flight International
