More than 1,000 aircraft owners have asked the FAA to block public dissemination of registration data since the agency announced restoration of the program Dec. 2.
All requests made under the former Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program remain in effect, and the FAA is directly accepting—and honoring—new requests from aircraft owners and operators who wish to maintain the privacy of their movements while operating under IFR, officials said.
Operators need no longer prove their security is at risk to keep aircraft movements private.
Aviation industry advocates led by NBAA mobilized to oppose a DOT rule that took effect in June requiring operators to prove a “valid security concern” in order to prevent dissemination of flight-specific information to private companies that make radar tracking and aircraft data available to anyone with an Internet connection.
AOPA joined NBAA and EAA in federal court action to overturn the new rule, and the Justice Department informed the court of the FAA’s reversal—following passage by Congress of an appropriations bill that required the change—a day before the case was to be heard.
The FAA is now directly accepting requests to block aircraft data from dissemination through the Aircraft Situation Display to Industry (ASDI) or National Airspace System Status Information (NASSI) systems.
"On behalf of our AOPA members, we thank those in Congress and the administration who recognize the importance of assuring a measure of privacy protection to individuals operating their own aircraft," said AOPA President Craig Fuller. "We are pleased to have the BARR program back in operation."
According to the interim policy, the FAA will propose new procedures for blocking aircraft registration data from public release in early 2012, and solicit comment on the proposed new rule. Meanwhile, all aircraft data previously blocked under the Certified Security Concerns program that began June 3 will remain blocked. New requests can be made via email. Requests can also be made via mail to FAA ASDI Blocking Request; ATO System Operations Services, AJR-0; Wilbur Wright Building, Room 3E1500; 600 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20597.
