The FAA on April 29, 2020, released a special federal aviation regulation (SFAR 118—Relief For Certain Persons during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak) “to enable individuals to continue to exercise their airman certificate privileges during the national emergency.” Generally, the SFAR recognizes the incompatibility of flight training with social distancing and extends to June 30, 2020, certain deadlines for flight reviews, instrument proficiency and other requirements. Notably, expiration of a maintenance technician’s inspection authorization may be extended to March 31, 2021, under certain conditions. The table below details some of the temporary deadline extensions.
“Without this final rule, certain individuals will not be able to continue exercising privileges in support of essential operations due to their inability to satisfy certain training, recent experience, testing, and checking requirements,” the FAA noted in the SFAR. “Additionally, other individuals may – to the extent possible given closures – attempt to satisfy requirements through means contrary to the national social distancing guidelines in order to avoid economic burdens resulting from non-compliance with FAA regulations,” the agency said.
