The House passed a bill Tuesday that would extend current aviation programs for two months and set new airline and pilot safety requirements intended to boost aviation safety.

The current extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (PL 111-197) expires Aug. 1. That law authorizes the collection of airline fuel taxes used to fund the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and pay for various FAA programs. A further extension is needed to keep those programs running before the August recess.

The bill (HR 5900) passed Thursday night by voice vote falls short of the long-term FAA reauthorization that House and Senate transportation leaders had been seeking, but includes language written by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and others that seeks to enhance safety after the crash of Continental Airlines flight 3407, outside of Buffalo, N.Y., on Feb. 12, 2009.

Specifically, the bill would require the FAA to promulgate regulations regarding limitations on flight time. It also would establish an electronic database of pilot records and would provide for implementation of National Transportation Safety Board recommendations.

The extension includes language that would require every commercial passenger airline pilot to hold an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) certificate, effectively increasing the current minimum training for flying a commercial passenger plane from 250 flight hours to 1,500 flight hours. The FAA also would be required to update the minimum standards for earning an ATP.

A "truth in advertising" provision would require online ticket agents to disclose the actual operators of each segment of a flight. Many major airlines have regional partners that operate short-haul flights on a contract basis. This became an issue because the flight labeled as Continental Connection that crashed in upstate New York was actually operated by Colgan Air.