FILE PHOTO: A plane taxis on the tarmac at Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., May 11, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

By David Shepardson

(Reuters) -Major U.S. airlines want the Federal Aviation Administration to delay by two years the requirement set to take effect in Augustthat new passenger airplanes have a secondary barrier to the flight deck to prevent intrusions, the agency said on Tuesday.

Airlines for America, the trade group representing American Airlines <AAL.O>, United Airlines , Delta Air Lines and other major carriers, said in a petition that the FAA should delay the requirement finalized in 2023 because the agency has not yet approved a secondary cockpit barrier and no manuals, procedures or training programs have been authorized.

The FAA said it was opening the airlines' request for public comment through June 23.

After the hijacking of four U.S. airplanes on September 11, 2001, the FAA adopted standards for flight deck security to make them resistant to forcible intrusion and unauthorized entry.

The airlines' petition said they expect the FAA to certify the barriers in June or July. The FAA did not immediately comment.

The rule requires aircraft manufacturers to install a second physical barrier on planes used in commercial passenger service in the United States. The FAA said in 2023 the additional barrier will protect flight decks from intrusion when the flight deck door is open.

Air Line Pilots Association President Jason Ambrosi criticized the industry request.

"We urge the FAA to reject this latest stalling tactic and implement, without delay, the secondary barrier requirement as Congress mandated," he said.

Unions in 2023 urged that the rule take effect one year after publication, while Boeing, Airbus and Airlines for America had called for three years.

The FAA was supposed to have adopted rules by 2019 under a 2018 federal law, but the agency has said it was required to follow procedural rules before it could impose new regulations.

The FAA is not requiring existing airplanes to be retrofitted.

The FAA in 2007 set rules to address flight deck security when the cockpit door was opened, including requiring the door be locked when the airplane is in operation, unless necessary to open it to permit access by authorized persons.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita Choy)