The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) raised concerns Tuesday over a provision in the House Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency Act of 2026, or ALERT Act, that would limit the use of ADS-B data for airport fee collection. The issue surfaced during a Senate Aviation Subcommittee hearing focused on close calls, runway incursions and efforts to improve safety across the National Airspace System.
Lawmakers also discussed the Senate-passed Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform Act, or ROTOR Act, which includes an ADS-B In mandate intended to improve cockpit traffic awareness.
House Bill Draws Airport Objection
The concern was raised after Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., asked witnesses what issues needed to be resolved as Congress considers the House and Senate safety bills. Todd Hauptli, president and CEO of AAAE, said the airport association’s concern is with Section 105 of the House ALERT Act, not the Senate ROTOR Act’s ADS-B In requirement.
“The House version of the legislation contains the provision not in the Senate version that airports are very concerned with,” Hauptli said during the hearing. “It’s Section 105 of the House bill, and that would preclude airports from their ability to use ADS-B for fee collection purposes.”
Existing Fees, Collection Dispute
Hauptli said airports view ADS-B data as a tool for collecting existing landing fees and supporting safety projects. He did note that some pilots have threatened to turn off ADS-B to avoid those fees, an outcome AAAE says would not support safety.
“We think it’s an important tool, technology tool for airports to be able to use that for fee collection so that we can make sure that we’ve got appropriate safety projects going on at airports,” Hauptli said. “And we don’t think that turning off that technology, as some pilots have threatened to do in air … to avoid having to pay those fees, those small landing fees, we don’t think that’s good for safety.”
In response, Moran noted that the dispute is over how airports may collect existing fees, not whether ADS-B would create new ones. Moran said the fees are “already required to be paid,” and Hauptli responded, “Yes, sir.”
AAAE is wolf in sheep’s clothing using ADS-B safety airport projects to cover for collecting landing fees. Come on Congress, dont let them get away with this self serving cover story!
Not only is it the wolf in sheep’s clothing, ADS-B cannot be used for fee collection reliably. It is too easily spoofed, especially 978 MHz, but 1090 as well. I know this as my N number frequently appears on ADS-B reports flying around in the west and southwest, when my airplane is sitting in a hangar 2000 miles away or flying on the opposite coast at the same time. Who gets the bill for a flight that originates in Sacramento, terminates in Palm Desert, while 15 minutes earlier departing Harford, CT for Manassas, VA? We have enough problems with airports using AIP money for unsustainable and unneeded projects, standards intended to limit competition on the field and steer GA money to their pet FBOs. This will be one last nail in the GA coffin.
ADS-B was always designed primarily as a means to collect user fees disguised as a safety measure, nothing more and definitely nothing to do with safety and everything to do with spying on US citizens. It was copied from the European surveillance system that didn’t bother to try to disguise it as safety since they are already full-blown socialist/communist constructs. Obama admin lied about the cost of maintaining the LORAN system as being too expensive to maintain at 437M/yr and pushed the ADS-B on us as a cheaper solution which is on the order of an average of 3 Billion/yr. General aviation was just a willing group of useful idiots helping promote their own destruction with help from the AOPA and others promoting the takeover.