Industry Guides FAA Towards Mutual International Acceptance
April 14, 2026
On April 13, ARSA and a group of aerospace trade associations provided the FAA with feedback on a rulemaking plan to establish international flexibility in the U.S. aviation safety rules. That feedback came at the agency’s request, which sought input from the organizations that had in 2020 petitioned the government to update 14 CFR part 43 to allow for direct recognition of foreign maintenance organization certificates under the United States’ bilateral aviation safety agreements.
“The proposed changes to §§ 43.3 and 43.7 would enable the FAA to significantly streamline the approval and compliance assurance processes for all affected parties,” the 2020 petition said. “The FAA would, of course, retain the right to negotiate the specific terms of any such arrangement with each bilateral partner, thereby assuring the FAA’s ability to exercise its State of Registry prerogatives as it does today.”
During ARSA’s Annual Conference on March 19, General Aviation Group Manager Chris Parfitt announced the agency had begun the process sought by the group’s petition. In a letter delivered to the association that week, the FAA described its early plans for the rulemaking and requested industry analysis of the deregulatory value of the resulting rule.
“Current rules forcing U.S. repair stations to maintain multiple foreign certificates are examples of ‘overregulation’,” the response letter supported by 13 associations said. “The proposed changes to part 43 will allow the FAA to enter into BASAs that recognize equivalent safety outcomes and impose fewer unnecessary burdens…The cost associated with obtaining a foreign maintenance certificate is a barrier to entry that disproportionately affects small businesses, which have less revenue over which to amortize duplicative compliance costs. Amending part 43 as proposed will provide the FAA with the discretion to enter into BASAs with trusted international partners that will benefit all maintenance facilities.”
The FAA intends to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking in early 2027. For a complete review of the issue and to see the 2020 petition, review the content below.
To review the complete letter to the FAA, click here.
In addition to ARSA, the following organizations joined the letter:
Aerospace Industries Association
Aircraft Electronics Association
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Airlines for America
Aviation Suppliers Association
Aviation Technician Education Council
General Aviation Manufacturers Association
Modification and Replacement Parts Association
National Air Carrier Association
National Air Transportation Association
National Business Aviation Association
Vertical Aviation International
4/20/20 - ARSA-led Petition Would Provide FAA Path to Reciprocal Acceptance
April 20, 2020
On April 17, 14 aviation trade associations joined ARSA in delivering a petition for rulemaking to the FAA to amend 14 CFR part 43. The requested amendment would provide the FAA flexibility to accept foreign maintenance organization certificates – without issuing its own certification under part 145 – by authorizing such acceptance in the United States’ bilateral aviation safety agreements.
Under the proposed language, the FAA would have the discretion to enter into a reciprocal acceptance agreement with a bilateral partner. The rule would not independently establish such acceptance or require the agency to do so.
“The proposed changes to §§ 43.3 and 43.7 would enable the FAA to significantly streamline the approval and compliance assurance processes for all affected parties,” the petition said. “The FAA would, of course, retain the right to negotiate the specific terms of any such arrangement with each bilateral partner, thereby assuring the FAA’s ability to exercise its State of Registry prerogatives as it does today.”
The group cited ongoing coordination among and between the world’s leading aviation regulators. Based on progress made by the “Maintenance Management Team,” which includes representatives of the FAA, EASA, Transport Canada and ANAC Brazil working with industry organizations, the petition explained the United States should have the same discretion as its international partners to determine equivalent levels of safety.
For additional support, the industry cited a 2011 study commissioned by ARSA underscoring the financial benefits of global regulatory coordination. That study, performed by the consulting group AeroStrategy, found it costs repair stations significantly more to become certificated by foreign aviation authorities when a maintenance organization’s home country does not have a BASA.
“Industry’s costs to obtain and retain foreign AMO certificates would be eliminated completely if the domestic authority’s certificate and oversight is the only expenditure required to perform work for a foreign customer. Adoption of the proposal would also allow agency resources to be directed at continued operational safety elements rather than expenditures to perform certification and oversight operations that are duplicative to the bilateral partner’s efforts,” the petition said.
To read the complete petition, click here.
Stay tuned for updates – and calls for comments and support – as the petition is docketed in the Federal Register.
In addition to ARSA, the petition was also supported by:
Aerospace Industries Association
Aircraft Electronics Association
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Airlines for America
Aviation Suppliers Association
Aviation Technician Education Council
Cargo Airline Association
General Aviation Manufacturers Association
Helicopter Association International
Modification and Replacement Parts Association
National Air Carrier Association
National Air Transportation Association
National Business Aviation Association
Regional Airline Association
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