Help strengthen pilot privacy

The Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act, introduced by Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), and Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.)—both active general aviation pilots—would ensure ADS-B is used for its intended purpose, air traffic safety and airspace efficiency, and not for collecting airport landing fees and opening investigations on pilots.

When introducing the bill, which AOPA strongly supports, Onder recognized the “game-changing impact” ADS-B has had on aviation safety, while Budd called it a “critical safety technology.”

GA pilots spent more than $500 million complying with the FAA’s ADS-B mandate in 2020. At the time, there were concerns about potential abuses of ADS-B, but the FAA assured AOPA that ADS-B would only be used for improving safety and efficiency in the national airspace system. Unfortunately, there are now multiple complaints about ADS-B being used to file frivolous lawsuits, bill pilots for landing fees sometimes weeks later, or to bring questionable enforcement actions. Budd and Onder noted that misuse of ADS-B risks undermining its safety benefits.

“We have all seen the benefits of having ADS-B in the cockpit. It is now time for all of us to contact our respective elected officials in Congress and urge them to show support by adding their names to these bills,” said AOPA President Darren Pleasance.

“To be clear, these bills would not prevent airports from imposing fees on pilots—they can do that legally today. However, and while we strongly advocate for GA airports and understand the need to finance airside safety projects, we firmly believe that using ADS-B to collect these airport fees is a deterrent for more pilots to equip with this safety technology,” added Pleasance.

Both the House and Senate bills (H.R.4146 and S.2175) would:

• Prohibit the use of ADS-B data to assist in the collection of fees from pilots or aircraft owners.
• Clarify that ADS-B data may be used only for its intended purposes of air traffic safety and efficiency.
• Give the secretary of transportation the discretion to authorize other uses of ADS-B data.
• Expand, to all federal, state, and local entities, a provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 preventing investigations from being initiated based solely on ADS-B data.
• Ensure public-use airports make transparent the impact of any new fees on GA and businesses and require revenue collected to be used for airside safety improvements.