FAA Extension For Flight Deck Barrier Rule Juggles Mixed Input

The FAA has granted airlines a one-year exemption to install and use additional flight deck barriers on new commercial aircraft, citing the need for more time for certification and training.

Installed Physical Secondary Barriers (IPSB) were mandated by theFAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. The agency adopted the Secondary Barriers Final Rule in June 2023 (Inside MRO July 2023, p. MRO5), which was set to require U.S. carriers to install the barriers on all newly manufactured aircraft delivered after Aug. 25, 2025.

• Secondary barriers are intended to safeguard the flight deck
• Airlines requested more time to comply, but pilot and flight attendant unions pushed back

Roughly three months before that deadline, trade association Airlines for America (A4A) raised a cautionary flag: The IPSB had yet to receive FAA certification. “No manuals or procedures have been released, and no training recommendation for flight deck and cabin crew members (flight crew) has been submitted for review,” it wrote in a May 5 petition seeking relief for its members. While it expected FAA certification in June or July, A4A said the impending deadline created “an impossible timeline” for operators to complete the necessary training for IPSB.

Acknowledging the required training timelines, the FAA agreed that it was “not feasible for A4A member airlines to provide flight and cabin crews with initial IPSB training” by the approaching deadline. Aircraft manufacturers were still “in the process of certifying secondary barriers to amend their respective [type certificates]” and “in different stages of certification,” the agency said in its July 17 exemption notice. Once the barriers are certified, carriers need to develop, obtain FAA approval of and provide training to flight crews, the FAA explained.

“This one-year time frame will be sufficient to address the current lack of IPSB certification, the expected availability of [type certificate] holders’ reference materials for development and approval of air carrier training and the training of flight crews,” the FAA determined.

Several unions pushed back against a delay, asserting that carriers had ample time to prepare. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants were among those to contest A4A’s petition, stating that flight attendant training could be accomplished prior to departure on an IPSB-equipped aircraft as a “manageable” number of such aircraft joined airline fleets. The AFA estimated that an average of 29 new IPSB-equipped aircraft per month—spread across eight U.S. airlines—might be delivered between Aug. 25 and Feb. 28, 2027.

The FAA’s exemption was a compromise of sorts, as A4A had sought a two-year exemption to comply with the rule. The association counts the four largest U.S. airlines among its members. Its request “was simply a reflection of the practical fact that there is a current lack of FAA certification of secondary barriers, which has resulted in a circumstance that temporarily prevents airlines from developing the required FAA-approved regulatory requirements to comply with the regulation,” A4A said.

In reaction to the FAA’s decision, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) expressed disappointment.

“The FAA’s decision to grant airlines yet another delay on the secondary barrier rule is deeply disappointing and undermines our nation’s aviation security,” ALPA President Jason Ambrosi said. “This pattern of endless delays must stop. Airlines have had ample time—two full years—to comply with this congressionally mandated safety requirement.”

As mandated under the final rule, Part 121 operators will be required to close and lock installed IPSB whenever the flight deck door is temporarily open while in flight—including during lavatory breaks, meal service or crew changes. The additional barriers are intended to slow a would-be disruptor long enough to close an open flight deck door before it can be breached. In the meantime, airlines will continue to use improvised noninstalled secondary barrier (INSB) methods, which utilize crew and/or galley carts to monitor and block the area in front of the flight deck during a door transition.

IPSB have been developed by suppliers including Schroth Safety Products and AmSafe Bridport. Airbus chose Schroth’s IPSB for the A320, A330 and A350, and it selected AmSafe to supply secondary barriers for all newly manufactured A220s. AmSafe says it has completed a range of tests including flammability, structural loading, cyclic and functional assessments as well as environmental exposure trials, abuse loading and inertia testing.

“We are working with the FAA and Transport Canada Civil Aviation to finalize additional certification requirements and support upcoming deliveries for the Airbus A220,” a company spokesperson said. “These deliveries will comply with the new FAA regulation 14 CFR 25.795(a)(4) and will be certified by [Transport Canada Civil Aviation] authorities. Additionally, we are engaging directly with airlines that will soon receive the new product to assist with their upcoming crew training programs.”