The FAA is cracking down on safety for public charter flights

The agency said it planned to issue a rule under which such flights would be subject to operating procedures based on the same safety parameters as non-public charter operations.

The proposed rule would change the definitions of “scheduled,” “on-demand,” and “supplemental” operations, according to a release.

“If a company is effectively operating as a scheduled airline, the FAA needs to determine whether those operations should follow the same stringent rules as scheduled airlines,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement.

The new proposal follows a request for comment issued last year that received around 60,000 public comments. The FAA says it would seek additional comment on an effective date “that would allow for industry to adapt to any change in the regulatory environment.”

In addition, the FAA says it will convene a Safety Risk Management Panel to explore the creation of a new operating authority overseeing certain operations of 10 to 30 seat aircraft “to align aircraft size and certification standards with operational needs for small community and rural air service.”

According to the FAA, it is currently not always clear to the public that some some public charter flights that seem to operate like scheduled airlines conform to “less-rigorous safety regulation.”

The trade magazine The Air Current reports that public charter operator JSX has called the efforts “the product of a full-bore lobbying campaign of misinformation and innuendo by some of the most powerful, entrenched airline industry interests,” while major airlines such as American Airlines and Southwest Airlines as well as the Airline Pilots Association have criticized the business model of operators such as JSX.

“Safe air travel options should be available to everyone, not limited to only those living near a major airport,” Whitaker added in his statement.