CASS going away????

[AcarsMe]

So we had a dispatcher find out the hard way the other day that she had been deleted out of CASS....when she got home she told us about it and we all checked our status, and we had all been deleted out as well. Apparently TSA is going to some "verified crew member" system to get flight crews through security. Our boss just informed us that we might never get put back in CASS!

 

[Squirrel29]

Don't see how that is possible with the required 5 hours observation.

 

[bcp7]

CASS is not necessary to ride on your own airline.

 

[AntiJedi]

CASS is not necessary to ride on your own airline.

It shouldn't be, but it depends on who the gate agent is working for...

 

[AcarsMe]

Well it turns out that in the process of my company switching databases for this new TSA verified crew member program, that we got deleted out. I was told the situation was going to be fixed for us today. It just freaked a lot of us out because our boss alluded to that we may not even be getting put back into CASS, which naturally didn't sit well with a lot of us. I wasn't sure if this was something other dispatchers were going through as well or not. But all seems to be well now.

 

[brokedash]

Glad to hear this was only a hicup. CASS is an invaluable benefit/privelage.

 

[ss9e]

I was told today that "an FAA POI is trying to remove dispatchers from his airline’s cockpits except for required training." Anyone heard anything about this?

 

[brokedash]

I was told today that "an FAA POI is trying to remove dispatchers from his airline’s cockpits except for required training." Anyone heard anything about this?

Not cool. However, I could think of one airline this might be and why a POI would try to do something evil like this.

 

[ss9e]

Not cool. However, I could think of one airline this might be and why a POI would try to do something evil like this.

share?

 

[b74l]

share?

Just a reminder for everyone to check pilot credentials for cockpit riders EVERY TIME. I heard this story from the ALPA National jumpseat kahuna:

Agent runs down at the last minute with a FedEx jumpseater. She tells the CA that this guy has been cleared through CASS and is good to go. Since its close to door closing time, the CA accepts the guy.

Passing through 10K they start talking to him and realize he IS NOT A PILOT. Seems that FedEx has put their couriers into CASS for access to their cockpit jumpseats. The CA returns to the departure airport to disembark this guy. As a result, now the cockpit crew is facing certificate action for violating the post 9/11 FAR that makes the cockpit crew responsible for unauthorized access to the flight deck.

Moral of the story: Check IDs, licenses and medicals EVERY TIME you get a cockpit jumpseater.

The dirty little secret about CASS that most people don't know is that the COMPANIES determine who gets entered into the system. The ALPA guy told me that there is actually a helicopter operator in LAS who put EVERY SINGLE employee from the CEO to the janitor in CASS. Just because your agent clears him/her through CASS doesn't necessarily mean they have the qualifications to ride your cockpit jumpseat.