BARR Program in Jeopardy, Take Action Now

March 4, 2011

Dear Aviation Professional,

I need your help today to maintain the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) Program as we know it. Government officials are taking action to severely curtail the effectiveness of the program, and NBAA needs you to make your voice heard on the issue – immediately.

As I have previously reported, the BARR has been under review by the Department of Transportation (DOT), and as part of that review, government officials have been considering onerous limitations to the program.

NBAA has forcefully explained that the BARR has been in place for more than a decade because, in an era in which flight information can be made instantly available to any person, anywhere, with any motive, there are circumstances in which companies have wholly legitimate reasons for wanting to protect the privacy and the safety of their flights, and the passengers aboard.

In spite of the concerns we have raised, government officials today submitted a plan to the Federal Register that would severely limit participation in BARR. With very few exceptions, the plan calls for the online disclosure of tail numbers for aircraft in flight.

In response to the publication of the government’s filing, NBAA issued a statement explaining our opposition to the plan. In short, NBAA sees no reason why our government should want to provide unknown parties – especially those engaged in corporate espionage, or simply those who may wish to do harm to others – with the tools to electronically stalk U.S. citizens or companies on general aviation airplanes.

The government has provided a thirty-day comment period for our industry make its voice heard on the proposed changes to the BARR. We need you to take action now.

NBAA has created an online resource center [closed], where Members can view the filing to the Federal Register, read NBAA’s concerns about the proposed changes to the BARR program and view information for submitting comments to the federal docket. If you have questions or want to speak personally with someone at NBAA about how you can take action, I invite you to contact NBAA’s Operations Service Group at (202) 783-9250 or info@nbaa.org.

Sincerely,
Ed Bolen
President and CEO
National Business Aviation Association