AOPA seeks to limit aircraft tracking for airport fees

AOPA President Mark Baker urged the FAA to halt third-party use of aircraft tracking data for purposes that are counter to assurances given by the agency—and more recently reaffirmed by Congress—that the tracking data (known as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B) would be used for the limited purpose of increasing safety.

In a September 12 letter to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker, Baker voiced concern that third parties have begun collecting ADS-B data to be used by public airports to levy fees on pilots, and asked Whitaker to “work with AOPA to ensure these practices are prohibited.”

Baker noted that while most general aviation aircraft have been equipped to transmit ADS-B data, the use of that data to impose new fees will discourage owners who have not yet equipped their aircraft from doing so. AOPA supported the ADS-B mandate, which took effect in 2020, based on the understanding it would be used only to help air traffic controllers keep aircraft safely separated. Pilots (including a majority of AOPA’s 300,000 members) have collectively spent more than $1 billion equipping aircraft with ADS-B transmitters.

“We agreed to support the mandate, in large part, because of assurances received that ADS-B was to be used solely to modernize and improve air traffic safety,” Baker wrote. “Unfortunately, third parties continue to use ADS-B data for purposes other than what the equipage mandate was intended.”

AOPA recently urged officials responsible for several public airports in Florida, all of which have received substantial federal grants for airport improvements in the past decade, to halt proposals to automate the collection of fees based on ADS-B data.

“Moreover, we have received reports that federal agencies and others are using ADS-B data to track aircraft. This brings up a host of issues including invasion of privacy,” Baker wrote. He noted that the 2024 FAA Reauthorization law specifically prohibits the FAA from using ADS-B data to initiate investigations of pilots. “This language was specifically targeted to prevent the use of ADS-B data for other than its intended purpose and the overall message from Congress is clear. We will continue to pursue this issue and look forward to the FAA assisting in our efforts.”