Trouble Brewing with US Bilateral Agreements? – Drug Testing for Foreign Repair Stations
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) final rule published on December 18, 2024 titled ”Drug and Alcohol Testing of Certificated Repair Station Employees Located Outside of the United States,” the FAA announced a formal requirement that international regulatory authorities and repair stations have been dreading for years. This legislation requires foreign FAA-certified repair stations working on 14CFR Part 121 aircraft and components to have a drug and alcohol testing program accepted by the FAA, in the foreign country which they operate.
Background
This requirement was included in the 2012 FAA Reauthorization Act at the behest of trade unions with the promise that it will protect aviation maintenance jobs within the United States. It also (admittedly, fairly) levels the playing field for US-based FAA repair stations who must adhere to the cumbersome drug and alcohol testing rules at home. As noble and common sense this seems on the surface, the reasons it’s dreadful may not be obvious. It also has far-reaching complications that affect all US repair stations that perform work for export, particularly to the European Union (EU).
Bilateral Agreements are Important
US repair stations wishing to certify work for installation on United Kingdom and European Union member-state registered aircraft enjoy the benefits of bilateral agreements that essentially make the process “easy” and “cheap.” This is compared to the cost and burden of engaging directly with each Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). If no such bilateral agreement existed, there would likely be few US repair stations with UK CAA and EASA approval, based on the exorbitant cost of oversight (i.e. transportation and housing of foreign inspectors in the US) and full-certification requirements of each regulatory agency (i.e. no application of FAA rules to demonstrate compliance). Remember that the FAA acts on behalf of EASA and the UK CAA based on these agreements, and that’s the reason you don’t engage with them directly in the United States.
Problem
The EU has a long-standing “line in the sand” regarding drug and alcohol testing programs. Formally and informally, EASA leadership has voiced serious concern regarding this regulatory burden that has no social or legal precedent in Europe. There are no methods of compliance that coincide with their current regulatory environment. This, of course, is apathetical to the purpose of a bilateral agreement: to formally accept a different regulatory structure as equivalent to one’s own.
Tensions between FAA and EASA Have Been Growing
Tension between the FAA and EASA has been ongoing over the years for several other reasons, admittedly based on the European’s same ignorance regarding the purpose of bilateral agreements. There are several examples of unnecessary Special Conditions contained in the EASA Maintenance Annex Guidance (MAG) and that are forthcoming: Use of FAA Form 8130-3, Part Approval Holder (PAH) requirements for new parts, and most recently, the requirement to implement a Safety Management System (SMS) for FAA Part 145 repair stations.
Trade War?
EASA’s actions over the past several years indicate they have a different, lesser, value attached to the bilateral agreement. The EU may be protecting their domestic market by constantly pushing special conditions that dissuade FAA repair stations from taking on additional burdens that come with an EASA certificate. It’s the same reason we intend to incorporate drug and alcohol testing into their system, after all.
In an effort for international cooperation via the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), arguably a noble cause, EASA is also willing to push special conditions that force US Repair Stations to get in line with international standards. Alternatively, the FAA has not effectively pushed back on these issues, likely burdened by a plethora of domestic problems and scandals, and in effort to work towards the same goal, at least in the last presidential administration. The perception may be that US Repair Stations have more to lose than those in the EU, which is likely true given the sheer number of US repair stations that work on EU aircraft and aircraft
components in the United States.
Worst Case Scenario
The worst-case scenario is that the bilateral agreement between the European Union and the United States fails under the weight of these pressures and disagreements. In this scenario, US repair stations will have to act quickly, and at great cost, to independently seek EU and UK approvals on their own. Small-to-medium sized businesses, which comprise 85% of US-based repair stations, will be affected the most. Some, perhaps many, will inevitably fail based on the inability to service standing contracts or absorb the cost of compliance.
Solution
We need Congress to act to remove the requirement for drug and alcohol testing for aviation maintenance, both domestically and internationally. The entire program is a burden, especially for small businesses, with regulatory traps aplenty. The fact that aircraft maintenance, and not aircraft manufacturing, is subject to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) drug and alcohol testing rules is ludicrous and unfair. Even if the program persists, asking sovereign nations with no societal or legal system to uphold it, in addition to a plethora of exemptions included in the final rule, reduces the value of such a program to an unnecessary paperwork burden, and nothing more.
Ideally, our regulatory agencies would come to the table and negotiate on our behalf to truly accept each other’s regulatory system as equivalent, not identical. We need only look to our agreement with Canada to see the benefit of mutual acceptance that benefits both operators on one side, and maintenance organizations on the other. How easy this could be!
Get Involved
Without pressure from aircraft operators, maintenance organizations, airmen, and others, there will be no change. Get involved via the long list of trade associations that provide pressure and insight to government officials that can effect the change we need. Contact your members of congress, both in the House and Senate.
Here’s a list of organizations that you can join, and get involved with:
Aeronautical Repair Station Association – ARSA
Aircraft Electronics Association – AEA
Modification and Replacement Parts Association – MARPA
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association – AOPA
ARSA has a great Legislative Action Center on their website, full of information affecting the aircraft industry and a tool for finding your member of Congress: https://arsa.org/congress/
Compliance Solutions for Foreign Repair Stations
If you are a FAA approved repair station operating outside of the United States, the deadline for compliance is December 20, 2027. If you need assistance complying with this rule or have questions about implementing a FAA accepted Drug and Alcohol program at your facility, please contact us for a no-obligation consultation: https://tymsllc.com/request-consultation/