The use of ADS-B data in airport landing fee programs has recently drawn increased attention as more airports adopt charges tied to flight activity and as pilot groups push back against the practice. AOPA has said more than 100 U.S. airports have adopted fee structures. State lawmakers in places such as Florida and Arizona have also moved to limit how ADS-B information can be used in billing. The issue has surfaced in high-volume training markets as well, including the Phoenix area, where new fees at Falcon Field and Mesa Gateway have added to concerns about cost, traffic shifts and access for light aircraft operators.
“I think what’s got people upset is the fact that we have created a safety technology called ADS-B,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told FLYING in an exclusive interview. “Aircraft are certainly better with it. Pilot situational awareness is better with it. But if we have people making a bad safety decision to avoid rates and charges, that’s where I think the FAA wants to throw the penalty flag … that’s not the intended use of ADS-B.”
Bedford said airports are generally allowed to assess charges for services. But he indicated concern about how those fees are being imposed if the result is to encourage pilots to turn off avionics. He described ADS-B as a “critical safety tool” and drew a distinction between airport cost recovery and practices that could affect safety-related decision making in the cockpit.
Pilot groups and lawmakers have raised similar concerns. At AOPA’s SUN ’n FUN town hall this month, association leaders pointed to federal and state efforts to keep ADS-B limited to safety and operational purposes. They also warned that some pilots have reported shutting off equipment near airports where they believe the data is being used for billing.
Bedford did not say that the FAA is preparing immediate new rulemaking. But his comments suggest the agency is watching the issue more closely as airports, operators and policymakers continue to argue over whether and where any line should be drawn regarding how ADS-B data is used.
Bedford’s full interview will appear in print in FLYING’s June Ultimate Issue.
Administrator better get off his behind and take action to stop billing based on ADS-B data before pilots and owners revolt and do it for him. That will kill any alleged “benefit” of ADS-B, which has turned out to be questionable anyway.