The Airspace Waiver program allows
aircraft operators to request permission to fly in restricted
airspace. The information collected through the Airspace Waiver
applications will enable TSA to perform a background check on each
individual on the aircraft seeking to fly under the waiver. The
affected public consists of aircraft operators of the general
aviation community.
US Code:
49
USC 114 Name of Law: TSA Title 49
US Code: 49
USC 40103 Name of Law: TSA Title 49
The Federal Government cost for
this program has decreased due to a change in the methodology used
to calculate Federal cost. Previously, an estimate of 72 hours per
application was used to calculate an hour burden. The Program
Office responsible for processing Airspace Waiver Applications
provided that estimate as a maximum hour burden per application.
However, individual application processing times vary. TSA believes
a more accurate cost estimate of Federal costs is the fully-loaded
annual salaries of the staff dedicated to processing Airspace
Waiver Applications. While TSA is revising the identifying
information collected to include gender, the time burden for the
collection has not changed. However, from the last Information
Collection renewal in 2019, the respondents decreased for
International Waiver Applications and increased for Domestic Waiver
Applications. TSA relies on actual numbers based on flight activity
to determine the respondents. The actual numbers for the domestic
flights showed an increase in the respondents from 4,183 to 4,657.
The actual numbers for international flights showed a decrease from
4,777 to 4,224. TSA believes this decrease may be due to the
pandemic as flights were restricted for foreign travel, in
particular China, England, South Africa, etc.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.