In a Notice published today, the TSA is providing notice of its intent to collect information from respondents relating to the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) Program. With the Notice, the TSA is seeking to renew its information collection to continue its statutory mission of establishing and maintaining the FFDO program.
Up until now, the TSA hasn’t been very forthcoming regarding the number of participants in the FFDO program. However, according to the Notice, “Based on the number of current FFDOs, TSA estimates a total of 6,000 respondents annually”. So it appears that approximately 6,000 individuals are involved. Not sure whether all 6,000 are pilots, flight engineers or navigators, but I would guess that they represent a good portion of that number.
Now if the TSA could use some common sense and implement more reasonable procedures and regulations relating to an FFDO’s carry of a firearm, they might really be on to something. Oh well. At lease they have an FFDO program, which is better than none at all.
