Teamsters Voice Concern About Grounding of 46 Southwest Airlines Aircraft

Consistent, Unencumbered FAA Inspections of Repair Facilities Critical for
Safety of Flying Public

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Brotherhood
of Teamsters Airline Division, which represents 26 commercial cargo and
passenger air carriers nationwide, called on Congress to redouble its
commitment to move forward with language in proposed Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) reauthorization legislation that would harmonize and
strengthen oversight of domestic and foreign repair stations that perform
services for U.S. airlines.

The news that Southwest Airlines on Saturday, August 22, had to ground 46
aircraft allegedly due to illegal repairs is the latest example of why
passengers need assurance that no matter where repair work is accomplished,
there is a single high standard that applies to repair-station practices and a
single standard for regulatory oversight.

The FAA inspects aircraft maintenance and certifies the actual parts used to
ensure the safety and integrity of U.S. aircraft. The improper parts are
exhaust gate assembly hinge fittings that redirect hot jet engine exhaust away
from wing flaps. The parts were provided by a sub-contractor to a U.S.
domestic repair station performing outsourced maintenance services for
Southwest that had not secured FAA certification for them.

The FAA discovered the problem during a routine inspection on Friday. The
grounding of nearly 9 percent of the airline's fleet caused delays for
passengers throughout its system. According to the Associated Press: "The
parts have to come off the planes, it's just a matter of how quickly that has
to be done," said FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford. "Unapproved parts don't belong
on airplanes."

"The Teamsters Airline Division has been working with Congress to ensure the
flying public is protected by a coherent, single and enforceable standard for
all aircraft maintenance work, no matter where such work is performed; such a
standard does not exist today," said David Bourne, IBT Airline Division
Director. "That a highly successful and financially fit airline could not
detect this breach of FAA rules by itself underscores the need for close and
integrated regulatory oversight."

"When maintenance work given to a subcontractor is further outsourced to
additional subcontractors is when a single standard for maintenance practices
and oversight is most critical. The problem is compounded by an order of
magnitude when aircraft maintenance is outsourced by U.S. airlines to many
foreign repair stations, some even uncertificated by FAA," added Bourne.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4
million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto
Rico.

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Galen Munroe of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, +1-202-624-6911,
gmunroe@teamster.org