JFK KAAMCO virtual July meeting
4 AIRPORT VOICE, JULY 2021
Golf, HTA, Emissions and events discussed
President Roger Scott
thanked all the sponsors and volunteers
who helped make the
2021 Golf Event a success. He
was happy to report donations to
both Christ for the World Chapel
and Angel Flights. Both were on
the call to thank AIMCO.
He also announced the return
of the Kaamco Dinner Dance
Gala which was missed in 2019.
He suggested all save the date of
November 19th,.
On the controversial Health
Terminals Act, Scott mentioned
that some vendors began sharing
information and costs to
airlines. One vendor said that
he received a copy of the final
legislation but that the sponsor
has yet to answer questions
over details. He said the law is
now in effect although the regulations
are not yet. So the billing
process is unclear and that
once the The Department of Labor
puts out the implementation
this will help consul vendors
more clearly and setup a funding
path.
TFAC’s Frank DiMola had
good news regarding the Zero
Emissions program from the
Port. In a June 30 meeting the
Port sad that there would not be
an Impact Fee and that the Zero
Emission compliance date has
been pushed forward from 2025
to 2027. There will be another
meeting in which more details
will be forthcoming and open to
stakeholders to provide comments
that will likely be shared
with the community at the Port’s
Board of Commissioners meeting
in September.
Scott announced the IATA
Contact Tracing program. He
said that there is a working
group of airlines, which will submit
their information for evaluation.
This along with the upswing
with the Covid variant and the
hesitancy for governments to
open international flying makes
it seem that international travel
will remain restricted for some
time.
Concern over improper driving
standards on and around the
ramp was shared with Kaamco
by Terminal 7. Scott suggested
that they speak with Terminal 4
which has had a successful and
safe driver license program for a
couple of year. He went as far to
suggest that the Port might want
to implement an airport wide safe
driving program.
Cargo Committee-Brian
Cooley reported that they had a
successful FOD drive in June. He
commented that equipment was
found in some strange places
and some retrieved by the owners.
Other equipment owners
have been sent letters by the
Port to remove them or face disposal.
He reported that activities at
the Post Office are looking good
for this time of year.
Cooley said that the 100%
cargo-screening mandate put
into place on June 30th by TSA
is gong well but there appears
to be a shortage of K9s and
certified companies that handle
the dogs. Another person in
the cargo community remarked
offline that maybe there was
an under estimate on the number
of K9s required to fill the
needs. However, canines are
only part of the screening solution
which is also provided by
other security measures without
a nose.
Lastly it was noted that the
2021 Cargo Fishing trip is being
planned which was not held in
2020 because of the pandemic.
Any volunteers to help arrange,
please contact Brian.
The upcoming virtual Cargo
Committee meeting will be held
July 29th. A reminder email will
be sent to all with encouragement
for all cargo handlers to
attend to discuss the CDC import
dog restriction, the TSA K9
screening issues, and Restricted
Access program implemented by
the Port and TSA.
President Scott mentioned
the Dolores Hofman retirement
part on July 29 at Vetros, and
the upcoming Rotary Golf Day.
(See all airport golf dates seen
on page 6).
HTA Update
Health Terminals Act Huge
impact for everyone
Legislation for the HTA went
into effect July1, but the effect
on the respective companies required
to participate is still being
felt. Since the financial consequences
of the bill are rocking
some companies at Port Airports
JFK and LGA, not Stewart, these
companies are still seeking clarification
from the law. Company
owners of the service people
that are required by be funded
an additional $4.54 per hour
for health benefits are still frustrated
by the lack of answers to
many questions. Questions that
include who is actually required
to be covered, how are currently
supplied benefits accounted for,
how is funding being handled,
will there be exemptions, how
will the money be collected and
distributed and is there a way to
temporarily postpone the legislation
until all these issues are
resolved. According to those affected,
there was no input from
the companies that would be
subjected to this new law and
therefore a host of questions remain,
unanswered. While all say
that health insurance is good for
the workers, they feel that there
was no input and the financial
results a=can be devastating.
These are not global companies
but local firms having been
in business at the airports for
decades. The JFK Chamber of
Commerce, TFAC and Kaamco
organizations have all spoken
out that questions need to be
answered but as of yet the sponsors
of the bill have not returned
with details. As theses companies
wait for answers, they are
preparing for the change. According
to the Kaamco President
Roger Scott some vendors
began sharing information on
their compliance and costs they
anticipate will be passed on and
borne ultimately by the airlines.
One airline manager said that
they would look at the details
and that any new costs would be
subject to existing vendor contracts.
There has been pushback
by some airlines that could possibly
lead to extreme financial
hardship on small business vendors
who must pay up-front for
these benefits. One vendor said
that he received a copy of the final
legislation but that the sponsor
has yet to answer questions
over details. He said the law is
now in effect although the regulations
are not yet. So the billing
process is unclear and that once
the The Department of Labor
puts out the implementation this
will help consul vendors more
clearly and setup a funding path.
TSA SIDA
enrollment delays
Worker surge pressures processing
Agency asks for patience during uptick
TSA is experiencing a surge in aviation
worker applications that is adversely impacting
the Security Threat Assessment (STA)
adjudication response time. As airport operations
continue to recover from the impacts
of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
pandemic, May 2021 enrollments equaled
the highest volume TSA received since January
2020. Additionally, TSA is experiencing
increased enrollments across all vetted populations
in the National Transportation System
to include: aviation, maritime, and surface
populations.
Most STA applications are processed by
TSA in less than 15 days; however, some cases
that require manual review by a TSA adjudicator
may take up to 30 or more days to be returned
to airports. TSA will continue to monitor
STA processing times and prioritize resources
to minimize extended processing times.
TSA is Hiring to help stop these banned items.