Congress Said To Mull Age 65 Extension to Part 91K/135

The House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee is believed to have considered a possible amendment to its comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill that would extend the age 65 limits on airline pilots to certain Part 91K/135 operations, according to knowledgeable sources that spoke to AIN on condition of anonymity. As originally discussed, such a limit would apply to operations that have 100,000 flights or more annually, affecting primarily NetJets.

The age 65 rule is believed among the topics discussed during a meeting that is said to have been held either late this spring or in early June between the committee and NetJets executives. NetJets declined to comment, referring AIN to the committee.

A committee spokesman responded, “Throughout the process, the committee has held over 150 meetings with stakeholders and many members about various issues, priorities and requests,” and it remained unclear where the process for amendments might end up.

The committee has been assembling what one person termed a “whopper of a manager’s amendment” that includes numerous provisions—possibly even one involving the trucking industry—as T&I chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania) works to build support for the FAA bill that also includes the controversial air traffic control reorganization proposal.

A change to the age 65 rule, however, would draw opposition from charter operators that rely on older pilots as younger ones gets pulled into Part 121 airlines seeking to meet the new 1,500-hour pilot requirement, one Washington insider indicated.

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