FAA Notice (NOTC4570) [How] CFIs and DPEs – [Can] Avoid Certification Delays

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The FAA has recently put out a notice on how CFIs and DPEs can help applicants for practical tests and certification events reduce certification delays associated with mismatches of names in their paperwork. Mismatches between medical certificates, information in IACRA, and from previous certifications (pilot certificates or ratings) are causing delays in processing of certification or the ability to proceed at all with practical tests!

The FAA notice indicates that:

“Recently, many practical test applicants have had there practical tests delayed because the name of the applicant entered in IACRA did not EXACTLY match the name displayed on the applicant’s Medical and Knowledge Test Report.

Before scheduling any practical tests and to avoid any practical test delays, please make sure the applicant’s FULL name is entered into IACRA. If there is any discrepancy, e.g., “John P. Doe” as opposed to the full name “John Plane Doe,” the applicant cannot take the practical test and will have to schedule an appointment at the nearest FSDO to correct the issue.”

It goes on to note the importance that:

“Also, please make sure your practical test applicants have the correct endorsements.”

and refers readers to Advisory Circular 61.65J. (at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentID/1043278)

You can find the notice at: https://www.faasafety.gov/spans/noticeView.aspx?nid=14570

TSA Flight Training Security Program Update – FAASTeam Notice

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Visit https://www.faasafety.gov/spans/noticeView.aspx?nid=14552 for this notice.

Visit my other blog post on this for more information on this and DHS guide for CFIs at TSA Citizenship Verification Requirements for Flight Training Providers

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published a final rule for the Flight Training Security Program (FTSP) that took effect on July 30, 2024. The updated and finalized regulation retains many of the interim final rule requirements. One major update is that all flight training providers (including those that train U.S. citizens) must register a provider account with FTSP.

The final rule also makes significant changes to reduce burdens on candidates and providers without impacting security. These changes include:

  1. Flight training providers must establish an account on the FTSP Portal and identify one person as the administrator for their FTSP Portal account. This person may be the security coordinator or another employee. This is required regardless of whether you provide flight training to non-U.S. citizens. (49 CFR §1552.17)
  2. You must designate a security coordinator to act as a single point of contact between you and the TSA. This requirement applies to all flight training providers, including those who only train U.S. citizens. (49 CFR §1552.9)
  3. Initial security awareness training must still be completed within 60 days of hire; however, refresher security awareness training is now required once every two years for each employee who has direct contact with flight students. (49 CFR §1552.13)
  4. Candidates must have a valid determination of eligibility to participate in flight training. (49 CFR §1552.31) NOTE: If a candidate’s determination of eligibility expires due to lawful presence documentation, all training must cease until the candidate submits updated documentation of authorization to remain in the United States.
  5. Simplified process for identifying training events. Considerations of weight of the aircraft and training categories are eliminated from the regulation. There are no changes from the interim final rule as to what training events are covered. (49 CFR §1552.3)
  6. The provider notifies the TSA of all training event details. Candidates select providers through the portal; they no longer provide their training event details to the TSA. You must notify the TSA about scheduled candidate training event(s) through your portal account. (49 CFR §1552.51)

The TSA has several online resources available that provide guidance on the FTSP:

FAA Special Programs Section (AFS-830)
Email: safetybriefing@faa.gov
Phone: 202-267-1100

ATP AMEL Certificate Production Year to Date in 2025

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The airline industry has seen reduced hiring in 2025, which has also led to a reduction in the production of ATP certifications. The largest numbers of ATP certifications typically happen concurrently with initial airline training, through the ATP-CTP course, and then the ATP certification that occurs with an initial type rating, most frequently at regional airlines.

Many regional airlines have reduced or fully stopped “new hire classes” in 2025, and we can see the effect of this in the current ATP certification trends year-to-date.

The table here shows a comparison of ATP certificate issuance month-by-month, looking back to 2022 when we saw some of the highest rates of hiring and certification coming out of the COVID pause.

When we compare the half-year point in 2025 to 2024, we see a nearly 25% drop in year-to-date ATP AMEL certifications this year comparatively.

When hiring does again ramp up, we will see those numbers likely correlate with increases of ATP certification as larger, Major airlines, hire pilots from the regional airlines and then the regional airlines are required to back fill those vacated positions with new hire classes again, resulting in new pilots being pushed through larger classes of initial ATP certification processes than we are currently seeing in 2025.

The graph below shows a visible trend of ATP AMEL production in 2022, 2023,  and 2024, potentially showing a maximum production level. We can see that we have a differential from previous production in 2025 with a much lower trend line (the red one) that shows the gap in production so far this year.