ARSA Executive Vice President Christian A. Klein traveled (via the magical powers of remote connectivity) to Moscow, Russia on Oct. 20 to participate in the 2020 Regional Aviation of Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Conference.

According its organizers, the conference is one of the largest annual professional aviation events in Eurasian region and provides industry and government attendees with the opportunity to discuss the development of Russian and CIS regional and commuter aviation.

After briefly introducing the global aviation maintenance industry, Klein discussed pandemic-related economic disruptions as reflected by expert analysis from the association’s partners at Oliver Wyman and ARSA’s own surveying. He also delved into a number of issues that will impact future recovery, including workforce challenges, government economic support, restoring public confidence in travel, the estimated 8,000 aircraft that will be necessary to distribute a vaccine once it becomes widely available and finally the 2020 U.S. elections.

Klein closed his remarks with a warning about the risk to the global aviation maintenance sector from U.S. legislative proposals like the Safe Aircraft Maintenance Standards Act (H.R. 5119), the so-called “anti-repair station bill” promoted by airline mechanic unions and their congressional allies. Klein said the legislation, which was introduced and rushed through the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee last November, could gain momentum as a result of Democratic party gains in November. ARSA is leading a coalition to oppose the bill, which could lead to collapse of the various bilateral aviation safety agreements that have been inked in recent years between the FAA and other national aviation authorities.  That, in turn, would lead a more complex – and costly – regulatory environment with no additional safety benefits.

The ARSA team is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to educate and inform interested audiences about the maintenance industry. To book an ARSA speaker for a conference or meeting, please contact ARSA Vice President of Operations Brett Levanto at brett.levanto@arsa.org.

To review a PDF copy of Klein’s presentation slides, click here.

More from ARSA