AIRPORTS RATED CRITICAL UNSATISFACTORY: GIVEN BLACK STAR BY INTL PILOTS
ORGANIZATION
by Michael Ravnitzky , mikerav at mindspring dot com
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations (IFALPA)
designates certain airports as "Black Star" Airports, meaning that those
airports are rated critical unsatisfactory according to IFALPA's safety
criteria. There are reportedly 2-3 dozen hazardous black star airports and
navigation areas.
IFALPA also grants lesser ratings for less severe safety concerns: Red
Stars are assigned to airports and navigation regions that are very
unsatisfactory, and Orange Stars to airports and regions that are
unsatisfactory.
IFALPA distributes these ratings to its members but not to the public.
However a copy of the IFALPA Black Star rating list was leaked to the press
in 1977, after the tragic runway collision of two 747 jumbo jets on Tenerife
in Spain's Canary Islands, and appeared in several publications.
The FAA apparently receives a copy of the IFALPA "Black Star" listing, as
does IFALPA's affiliate in the United States, the Air Line Pilots
Association (ALPA).
You can request a copy of the IFALPA's hazardous airport ratings identifying
airports receiving their Black Star listing (which presumably also contains
the red star and orange star ratings) from the FAA by sending a letter
mentioning the Freedom of Information Act to the following address:
Federal Aviation Administration
Attn: Ms. Tracy Paquin
Acting FOIA Program Director, ARC-40
800 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20591
USA
telephone number: (202) 267-9165
fax number: (202) 493-5032