As we reported last month, in late April the FAA released special federal aviation regulation (SFAR) 118, “to enable individuals to continue to exercise their airman certificate privileges during the national emergency” associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. “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.
At the time, we noted “that the deadline extensions—basically two or three months—may not be long enough, given the uncertainties surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic.” We also reported that it “was unclear whether the SFAR’s deadline extensions may themselves be extended…if conditions warrant.” According to a May 29, 2020, joint letter from seven general aviation trade associations, conditions warrant those additional extensions.
