WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration in about two years will require new commercial airplanes to be manufactured with a secondary barrier on the flight deck.
Polly Trottenberg, deputy U.S. transportation secretary and acting FAA administrator, signed the final rule Wednesday. It states that as a requirement of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, “certain airplanes used to conduct domestic, flag, or supplemental passenger-carrying operations (must) have installed a physical secondary barrier (IPSB) that protects the flightdeck from unauthorized intrusion when the flightdeck door is opened.”
The rule will apply to commercial airplanes manufactured after mid-2025.
“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,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
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The adoption of new standards for flight desk security were made a priority following the events of Sept. 11, 2001, as is detailed in the final rule.
“During many flights, the flightdeck door must be opened for lavatory breaks, meal service, rest periods, crew changes, etc. During the time of door transition, the open flightdeck has some degree of vulnerability to attack. During these openings, an attack on the flightdeck could happen quickly; this could leave insufficient time for passengers and cabin crew to react. However, there have been no breaches of a flightdeck since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks,” the rule states. “The purpose and functional benefit of IPSBs, which Congress directed the FAA to require by mandate, is to enhance the flightdeck security procedures of § 121.584 by slowing the time by which an unauthorized person could reach the flightdeck by at least the time required to open and reclose the flightdeck door.”
An FAA news release characterized the move as a priority circa 2021 of the Biden-Harris administration and a rule developed with input from aircraft manufacturers and labor partners, citing Delta and United as examples of airlines voluntarily adding IPSBs to their airplanes.
Biden named Trottenberg acting FAA administrator just last week, replacing Billy Nolen, who announced in April that he intended to leave the position.
Read the rule below.
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