About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 [1] (October 23, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goverbu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 0 October 23, 2024 The 2024 Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024 (P.L. 118-63) was signed into law on May 16, 2024. The act provides key civil aviation authorizations, including Airport and Airway Trust Fund revenue collection authority, airport grant obligation authority, and certain other FAA expenditure authorities, through FY2028. Authorized funding levels for FAA's four major accounts are shown in Table 1. Prior authority to operate and fund civil aviation programs under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-254) expired at the end of FY2023. Four short-term extensions were enacted between September 2023 and May 2024 to prevent authorization lapses in the intervening time. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 includes extensive language that addresses changes to FAA's organization and regulatory oversight functions; measures to address air traffic controller staffing and training; modernization of the national airspace system (NAS); aviation workforce development initiatives; aviation safety improvement efforts; initiatives to accommodate new airspace users, including drones and advanced air mobility (AAM) concepts; and measures to address passenger airline service. FAA Organ zation and Overs ght The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 imposes new requirements clarifying that a candidate for the FAA administrator position may not be active duty or retired military and must have experience in organizational management in a field directly related to aviation. The act also creates a new post at FAA, the assistant administrator for rulemaking and regulatory improvement, to coordinate the regulatory agenda, prioritize rulemaking, and address regulatory exemptions and waivers through a systematic process. Additionally, the act establishes a cybersecurity lead position to manage and oversee the cybersecurity requirements and needs of FAA systems. The act also orders reviews of FAA's workforce plans and staffing standards for aviation safety inspectors. Air Traffic Controller Staffing The act directs FAA to maximize hiring of air traffic controllers based on the availability of appropriations and training capacity. It directs FAA to develop a plan to expand air traffic controller training capacity and to address the recruitment, hiring, and retention of instructors. It also requires FAA to improve and expand the use of simulation technologies for controller training as well as review and revise controller staffing standards to ensure adequate numbers of fully qualified controllers. National Airspace Systern Modernization The act directs FAA to sunset the NextGen office, which has been overseeing airspace modernization efforts over the past 15 years, at the end of 2025. In its place, the act calls for the creation of a new Airspace Modernization Office that will be responsible for the continuous modernization of the NAS, including the development of an info-centric NAS (ICN). The new office also will focus on increased use of automation and evolving capabilities to accommodate established airspace users, including civilian and military aircraft, as well as new entrant technologies, including unmanned aircraft and AAM. The act redefines the air traffic control system to include infrastructure and services provided by third parties that support air navigation and air traffic management in coordination with FAA. This is intended to recognize the anticipated role of private service providers in managing low altitude airspace and operations conducted by new entrant technologies. The act also directs FAA to establish a new steering committee to advise on integrating advanced aviation technologies. Aviation Wor orce Development The act expands two existing aviation workforce development grant programs-one for training future pilots and the other for programs related to aviation maintenance technical careers-and provides for up to $20 million in annual appropriations for each program through FY2028. The act establishes a third workforce development program focused on the aviation manufacturing technical workforce, which is also authorized up to $20 million annually through FY2028. The act directs FAA to revise training and qualification standards for aviation maintenance technician applicants with relevant military experience and improve outreach and awareness to ease the transition between military and civilian aviation maintenance careers. The act also directs FAA to collaborate with minority serving institutions to promote awareness of aviation education and career opportunities and FAA internships, and it establishes an advisory committee to foster aviation career opportunities for women. The act orders FAA to establish an enhanced training program to streamline qualification of airline first officer prospects who follow a structured curriculum. It also directs FAA to convene a working group to review pilot medical certification and the evaluation of medical conditions, including mental health. The act does not address a legislative proposal to raise the maximum airline pilot age to 67 for domestic flights, thus leaving the retirement age for airline pilots at 65. Aviation Safety ntiatives The act directs FAA to require additional reporting of heavy maintenance performed on airline aircraft outside of

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most