Whether for a misty-eyed mother, carefully putting ribbons her little girl’s hair before her first exciting airline flight to visit her grandma, or for a harried businessman finally relaxing in first class after that once-in-a-lifetime deal; as professional airline pilots, we have only one commitment and one responsibility:  to carry that little girl, or that hard-working businessman to that far away airport in absolute safety.  It is a responsibility we take very personally and extremely seriously – and one we have prepared for years to accept.  That little girl and that harried businessman are the only reason we’re here.

In the years since September 11th, America’s pilots have waged an uphill battle to simply be able to defend our passengers against madmen who would spend years training to kill them and thousands more like them, destroy our freedoms and shatter our country.  They’ve already done it once, and nothing our industry or our government has done since, will stop them the next time.  Weapons routinely get past screening, ground employees legally avoid screening, and cargo is hardly screened at all. 

We thought a government that couldn’t stop September 11th from happening, and airlines that are one more attack away from disappearing forever, would welcome our offer to defend innocent people against terrorists.  Instead, that same government, and the airlines that happily collected their passengers’ money each day, did everything in their power to keep them defenseless once they got onboard.

They are taking an awful chance.

They’ve given us an Armed Pilot Program whose onerous restrictions have driven away almost 90% of the original volunteers.  Pilots who are former police officers and federal agents have been told they aren’t qualified.  Only one lonely desert training center exists to train those who remain.  Instead of defending our airliners, F-16’s stand ready to shoot them down.

They’ve spent $12 billion of your tax money on security initiatives that treat innocent Americans as terrorists, infringe on their civil rights, and drive up travel costs, while government reports confirm we are no safer now than we were on September 11th. 

The Airline Pilots Security Alliance is a community of tens of thousands of airline pilots desperately trying to effect real security enhancements before it is too late.   We are a non-profit, nonpartisan, non-political, single-focus organization.  Our members are liberals and conservatives, business-owners and employees, mothers and sons.  We are dedicated to one goal and have no second agendas:  Protecting our country and its people from new 9/11’s.  We are joined by visionary members of Congress and dedicated members of the public in this most critical of endeavors.

APSA works closely with airline and law enforcement organizations, air marshals, security and intelligence experts, Congress, the media and public support organizations to make sure 9/11 never happens again, providing expert, unbiased guidance to policymakers, and vital information and training to flight crews.  APSA’s work has resulted in dramatic improvements to aviation security already, in the form of new laws, programs and resources for aircrews, and new protections for passengers.

We need your help.  We need your financial and political support.   Please take the time to sign up for APSA’s newsletter, tell your friends about a group of pilots that are working hard to make sure 9/11 never happens again, write your representatives and contribute if you are able.