Imagine you’re a pilot. In your free time, you give back by volunteering your time for small flights that help patients get access to specialized medical care. We all know fuel and maintenance for airplanes can be expensive, but that’s okay because there are charitable organizations who want to help cover those costs.
Now, imagine the federal government telling you the $460 you paid to fly a patient to the Mayo Clinic can’t be reimbursed. Suddenly, your ability to volunteer is limited by how many flights you can personally afford.
That’s exactly what happened to Jeremy Rivers, a volunteer pilot with Wings of Mercy, a nonprofit that has spent 35 years providing free flights to patients in rural and underserved communities. Its volunteer pilots connect patients with specialists at institutions such as the Mayo Clinic, the University of Wisconsin Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic. Patients pay nothing and get to at least avoid long roadtrips for each appointment. The organization relies entirely on private donations.
Unfortunately, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) interpretation of its own rules is making these flights harder to arrange. Congress recognized the importance of charitable medical flights in 2012, expressly requiring the FAA to allow pilots to receive reimbursement for fuel expenses, subject to certain safety requirements. Yet the agency continues to impose restrictions that exceed what Congress authorized.
TPPF’s Center for the American Future recently launched two new cases in response to this government overreach.
Rivers v. FAA challenges the FAA’s interpretation of a rule allowing pilots to receive a more limited pro rata reimbursement, which has effectively prevented volunteers from receiving reimbursement.
Wings of Mercy v. FAA challenges burdensome requirements that include commercial-grade medical certificates, restrictions on aircraft and rural airports, and extensive paperwork.
The consequences of these FAA rules extend far beyond regulatory red tape. When volunteer pilots must personally absorb hundreds of dollars in expenses and charitable organizations face unnecessary administrative hurdles, fewer pilots may be available to help patients get the medical care they need.
These two lawsuits ask federal courts to enforce the laws and regulations as written, rather than allow the FAA’s interpretations to stand in the way of charitable flights. For patients who depend on these volunteers, the outcome could make a very real difference.
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