Limits to the Blocked Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program could be coming soon from the Dept. of Transportation (DOT), warns the National Business Aviation Association in a letter today to its members.
The Dept. of Transportation is considering adding “onerous limitations” to the BARR by implementing a security-related eligibility requirement for current participants and for those who may want to participate in the program in the future by Feb. 15, NBAA warns in the letter.
A year ago, District Court judge for the District of Columbia Rosemary Collyer ordered FAA to disclose the registration of aircraft tail numbers submitted under the BARR program in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request (BA, March 8, 2010/11). The ruling does not permit the disclosure of real-time flight data, historical data or operator names.
The request was filed by Pro Publica, an independent, non-profit newsroom. The publication wanted to track various corporate aircraft in the wake of the December 2008 congressional hearings, when the chief executives of the Big Three automakers were summoned to testify and all arrived in business jets.
FAA did release formerly confidential tail number information to Pro Publica (BA, April 12, 2010/12).
“NBAA has long understood that in the instant-information age of the Internet, with the flight-tracking software that web-based technology has made available, there are legitimate reasons why companies’ flights should not be displayed on a real-time basis,” writes President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Because NBAA recognizes the need for flight security among its member companies, the association has aggressively defended the BARR, and fought challenges to the program,” citing Pro Publica’s lawsuit.
NBAA has conveyed its concerns about the change directly to Secretary Ray LaHood and requested a meeting, says Bolen.
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