6.19.19 – Testimony to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the status and future of the Boeing 737 MAX

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Yesterday, APFA National President Lori Bassani submitted testimony to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the status and future of the Boeing 737 MAX.

American Airlines is the second largest US carrier of the 737 MAX after Southwest Airlines. APFA is fully committed to ensuring that our regulatory agencies deem the plane 100% airworthy before it even comes close to being put back into service. “As safety professionals, we in the aviation industry must ensure that accidents like these never happen again,” Bassani began.

However, “we believe the public gets mixed messages when members of American Airlines management make arbitrary statements about when the 737 MAX will be ‘ready to go,’” Bassani continued. “It doesn’t matter how many flights per day are affected or what time of year it is, financial considerations should never trump safety,” she concluded.

Not only must we as Flight Attendants feel completely certain of the safety of the aircraft, we will also need to be able to assure our passengers. APFA believes that Boeing and the FAA have a ways to go in terms of re-earning the public’s trust. “As cabin crew, we spend the greatest amount of time with the traveling public and they rely on us to reaffirm that we have, and will continue to have, the safest aviation system in the world. As Flight Attendant safety professionals, our top priority is safety, period” Bassani finished.

APFA will be monitoring the FAA’s progress to ensure that no steps are missed.

Read the full testimony here.

Allie Malis
APFA National Government Affairs Representative
[email protected]