ARSA Quantifies Foreign Repair Station Ban Impact

Some pretty sobering business-related MRO numbers found their way to the Hill recently, courtesy of ARSA. The subject: lost business opportunities stemming from TSA's failure to meet a mandate to issue new repair station security rules, which triggered a halt FAA's issuance of foreign repair station certificates.

ARSA surveyed its members on the impact of the situation, and received 36 responses. The lowlights:

The lowlights, per ARSA's release on the survey:

• Companies want to tap into rapidly expanding international aviation markets. Three quarters of respondents (75 percent) indicated their company has an application for FAA foreign repair station certification pending or will submit an application when the moratorium is removed.
• U.S. companies are losing revenue. U.S.-based companies responding to the survey report they are losing more than $18 million in combined revenues annually because of the FAA’s inability to certificate new foreign repair stations.
• The ban is stifling job growth. Over half of respondents (55 percent) said their companies would hire new U.S.-based employees if they could obtain FAA foreign repair station certification. Two companies anticipated hiring more than 100 new U.S.-based employees.

Even meatier were some of the added comments received: "Some overseas customers will not use U.S. repair stations because of the ban," one respondent wrote. "It has prevented us from growing our business in Africa and serving our customer base in that area," said another.

An unfortunate and seemingly avoidable situation that does more damage by the day.

Tags: om99, TSA, FAA, ARSA