Action Alert: Airport Input Needed ASAP to Stop Addition of AOPA-Backed PAPA to House Aviation Safety Bill

March 9, 2026

House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) recently announced that the committee plans to consider broad aviation safety legislation known as the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act next week. The legislation, which was introduced recently by the bipartisan leadership of the House T&I and Armed Services Committees, is aimed at implementing the recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board following last year’s tragic accident at DCA. Committee action next week comes after a House vote on the Senate-approved ROTOR Act failed to receive the votes necessary for passage two weeks ago (see our Alert).

As you are likely aware from their concerted campaign on social media and in Washington, AOPA is making an aggressive play to have the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (PAPA) added to the ALERT Act when it is considered in committee next week. As a reminder, PAPA – H.R. 4146/S. 2175 – would prohibit the use of ADS-B technology for fee collections by airports and impose a series of other burdensome and time-consuming requirements on the imposition and collection of takeoff and landing fees on general aviation, regardless of the process or technology utilized to collect those fees. The lead sponsor of PAPA in the House – Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO) – is a member of the T&I Committee.

AAAE and ACI-NA remain actively engaged in opposing PAPA, and earlier today we sent a joint letter to the leadership and members of the T&I Committee urging opposition to the inclusion of PAPA and provisions that would limit the ability of airports to impose and collect necessary and appropriate user fees that ensure continued safe operations and compliance with federal grant assurances. We encourage you to read and pull from the letter in crafting your own response to your congressional delegation and add local impacts that illustrate what adoption could mean at your facility.

You will recall that we successfully beat back attempts to add PAPA to the Senate ROTOR Act last year. The dynamics have changed significantly following the NTSB Chair’s endorsement of PAPA, and it is critically important that airports weigh in with concerns immediately if we are to have any hope at pushing back against PAPA and this latest threat to dramatically limit airport proprietor rights.

To assist you:

• AAAE/ACI-NA joint letter opposing the addition of PAPA to the ALERT Act
• Background paper outlining AAAE concerns with PAPA
• Contact information for House members here and Senators here
• List of House T&I Committee members here

Thank you for your continued engagement and advocacy. If the AAAE team can be helpful in any way as you communicate with your elected officials, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Stay tuned for further updates and calls to action.