‘We’ve done everything required’: Connect Airlines chief blasts US regulators over certification delays

US start-up carrier Connect Airlines is railing against aviation regulators for allegedly stifling its ambitions of launching flights between Canada and the USA and decarbonising regional air travel with hydrogen propulsion technology. CE John Thomas told FlightGlobal on 29 November that the certification process with the FAA has been much-delayed and lacking transparency, and that regulators are now effectively blocking the carrier’s path to market. ”The frustrating thing is that we have done everything required to get a [Part] 121 certificate,” he says. Parent company Waltzing Matilda Aviation on 29 November filed a petition requesting the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to reconsider its 16 November decision to revoke Connect’s air carrier certificate due to dormancy. The company is requesting an extension of its dormancy waiver until 31 March, arguing that ”reconsideration is warranted because the order was based on an incorrect assessment of [Waltzing Matilda’s] FAA certification process”. The airline has for months maintained that the FAA has been issuing inaccurate updates on its progress in communications with the DOT. ”Based upon these errors, the department again has raised the barriers to entry for start-up airlines, and specifically for a start-up airline with firm plans to become the first emission-free airline in North America,” the company says. <br/>