When did airports resume operation?
At 11 a.m. on Sept. 13 the Secretary of Transportation announced that the national grounding of flights (started Sept. 11) was lifted for commercial aviation. For air travelers most of the nation's airports are open, with the exception of Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Are general aviation aircraft permitted to fly?
For general aviation operators and pilots, the U.S. Department of Transportation has approved resumption of general aviation Instrument Flight Rules, or IFR, flights as of Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. Eastern time. However, those flights may not fly within 25 nautical miles of New York City and Washington, DC. Those restrictions will be kept in place until further notice as officials continue to assess the recovery situation in those cities over the near term. Pilots operating under Part 91 of the Federal Aviation Regulations, must be instrument-rated, must file IFR flight plans, and must receive a clearance before departure. Flights under visual flight rules have not been authorized.

As of today, general aviation IFR operations are approved between U.S. airports to and from Japan, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These aircraft must be on an IFR flight plan and comply with all U.S. Customs Service notifications and requirements in order to land at U.S. airports designated as ports of entry. 

On Sept. 16, the FAA ordered a temporary suspension of all agricultural aviation flights as part of an overall assessment of the gradual resumption of visual rule flights.

Will armed officers be put on flights?
Yes, FAA Federal Air Marshals who are armed and trained in the use of firearms on board aircraft will be flying anonymously on select flights. Federal Air Marshals are FAA civil aviation security specialists who are specially trained for deployment on anti-hijacking missions. The FAA will not reveal the number or identities of the marshals. The DOT is working with other government agencies to see if other highly trained agents may be deployed to augment the Federal Air Marshal force. 

Will the government be taking over the security screener workforce? We are looking at every aspect of security now for possible improvements. The FAA already has a rule pending (expected to go final this month) that will give the agency direct oversight of screening companies, and authority to impose new rigorous standards for training and testing of screeners. The rule will also require the use of new software FAA is deploying that will monitor how well each screener is doing at detecting dangerous objects. Under the new rule, screening companies whose screeners fail to meet FAA detection standards can lose their FAA certification to perform security at the airports. 

Also, on Sept. 16, Secretary of Transportation Mineta announced the creation of two separate task forces to deliver specific recommendations for improving security within the national aviation system. One task force will focus on increasing security at the nation's airports. The other will look at aircraft security, focusing specifically on cockpit access. Six national leaders in aviation and security were named to the task forces, each of which will deliver its recommendations to the Secretary no later than Oct. 1.

Are you going to require hijacking training for pilots and flight attendants? We already require the entire flight crew to undergo initial hijacking training, and annual recurrent training. We do not detail what this training encompasses for obvious security reasons. Whether this training will change in any way, we don't know at this time, but we're looking at everything for lessons we can learn. -FAA