FAA and Regs

President Joe Biden signed the long-awaited bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act into law on Thursday May 16—funding the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for another five years. After months of several short-term extensions, the $105 billion dollar legislation passed the House on Wednesday and the Senate last week before being sent to the president’s desk for final […]

On Thursday, the U.S. Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) said it will conduct an audit of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) oversight of United Airlines maintenance procedures. In a statement, the watchdog agency cited “recent safety events” at United as reason for the audit, noting its objective is to assess the FAA’s measures […]

The U.S. Senate passed a five-year extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday evening, just one day ahead of its expiration date.   The $105 billion bipartisan bill dubbed “The Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act” was overwhelmingly approved in a vote of 88-4. Following its passage, the Senate also […]

Acting ahead of this this Friday’s (May10) midnight deadline, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a one-week extension yesterday (May 8) for a five-year reauthorization agreement. The short-term “patch” came as the Senate works to reach agreement on the bill. FAA reauthorization is considered the last “must pass” measure facing Congress before this fall. The […]

U.S. Congress negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed this morning (April 29) on language of a long-term FAA reauthorization bill addressing potential safety breaches as well as consumer protections. The House voted in favor of a reauthorization bill in July 2023 that would have included raising the mandatory airline pilot retirement […]

The final rule on the Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) is now expected sometime in 2025. When the comment period closed for the MOSAIC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in January it was suggested that the final rule might be announced at AirVenture 2024 but that is no longer the expectation. “It is correct that early […]

The FAA has issued a final rule requiring charter, air tour operators and many manufacturers to develop and maintain safety management systems. The agency said last fall that it would make the requirement, and it sent the final rule to the Federal Register on Monday. “Requiring more aviation organizations to implement a proactive approach to […]

On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced its plans to revise air traffic controller rest guidelines, mandating a minimum of 10 hours off between shifts (previously 9 hours) and 12 hours off before midnight shifts.   The change comes in response to a new report released by a panel of safety experts detailing the […]

For the first time in its history, the FAA has issued a special flight authorization to allow Boom Supersonic to break the sound barrier. The approval will allow the Colorado startup to fly its XB-1 demonstrator aircraft faster than Mach 1 up to 20 times over the next year in the Black Mountain Supersonic Corridor […]

The FAA has launched a barrage of social media posts aimed at gathering applicants for its next intake of air traffic controller trainees. The next application period begins Friday and lasts until May 8. The agency is short about 3,000 controllers and is under pressure to get those posts filled in light of a rash […]