PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Staying Connected During COVID-19 By Timothy Obitts A viation, by design, is about freedom, bringing people together, making connections, moving urgent supplies, providing essential medical services, and delivering goods to communities across the country. Some of this has been stymied by an unseen risk…one that has swept the entire world. At this time, many locations are still weeks, if not months, away from the peak, and areas like New York, Italy, and Spain are still reeling from the impact and aftermath of the perva- sive enemy—COVID-19. What is helping me and many others in our affected industry get through these seemingly endless days? The perseverance, drive, philanthropy, courage, and creativity of our members, association volunteers, industry lead- ers, and the NATA team who has worked tirelessly to continue to fulfill on our mission—no matter what (read Aircraft misfuelings are preventable through proper training of pilots and FBOs; eliminating these accidents is a top priority for NATA and our membership. NATA urges all pilots, FBOs, and air charter operators to use its free website www.PreventMisfueling.com to help stop such mistakes. We would like to recognize Phillips 66 Aviation for their support of this effort through the creation of the “Save a Life – Verify Fuel Type” heart campaign. This campaign was developed to bring awareness to the gravity of misfuelings and the availability of free tools and resources to prevent them from happening. Please look for the poster sponsored by Phillips 66 Aviation on page 2 of this issue and the inside back cover of the Winter ABJ issue. These can be printed and posted at your operation as a reminder to stay educated and aware in order to prevent misfuelings. Phillips 66 Aviation also has a limited supply of “Save a Life – Verify Fuel Type” decals for use at your office, facility, or on your fuel trucks (pictured above). They have graciously offered to send these by request for a limited time. Please contact Phillips 66 Aviation at [email protected] for additional details. more in Ellen Miller’s article on page 26). That, along with the closeness of family and friends (albeit through video conferencing or telecon), energizes me and provides strength in forging a path forward for our members and the industry. When some industries have come to a virtual standstill, we have continued to be active on many fronts. There has never been a more important time for the industry to speak with one voice, and that has been dem- onstrated through our efforts with other leading aviation associations to express the immense value of the general aviation community and the unique needs of our aviation business members. You can read more about how NATA has joined various industry partners to seek relief and clarifications on provisions allowing us to continue to oper- ate essential services throughout this health crisis and for months to come in Jonathon Freye’s column on page 8. Our team has been in constant discussions with Congress, the Department of Treasury, and the Federal Aviation Administration, TSA, and other agencies to advocate for assistance for all aviation businesses—Part 135, MROs, FBOs, flight schools, airports, and the list goes on. We’ve been interacting with members and nonmembers alike, by phone and through webinars, to ensure they are understanding how to participate in these programs. NATA, along with our dedicated volunteers, has been developing relevant resources in the form of best practices, webinars, templates, and other documents to assist aviation businesses to be safe and secure during COVID-19. And, as aviation businesses explore the saf- est, most-expedient paths forward for their employees and customers, NATA is continuing to assist by facilitat- ing these discussions as part of a COVID-19 task force focused on the Part 135 community. This task force will complement the important work being done by NATA’s Safety Committee in addressing operational safety Continued on page 7 Aviation Business Journal | Spring 2020 5
