Bipartisan effort leads to passage of FAA and NTSB reauthorization

When President Joe Biden signed the five-year reauthorization package for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into law on May 16, it marked a significant moment for the U.S. aviation industry. The comprehensive bill spans 1,000 pages and includes over 1,200 measures and directives that impact both business and general aviation sectors.

The legislation's journey to completion took several years but was finalized less than a year after the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee unanimously passed it. The Senate Commerce Committee approved its version just three months later.

The process required four short-term extensions of the FAA’s operating authority before both legislative bodies could finalize their work. This timeframe was relatively brief compared to previous decades when such processes were often contentious, requiring numerous extensions due to disagreements among aviation stakeholders.