AOPA Applauds House Passage of ALERT Act

The ALERT Act includes provisions that would require ADS-B In to be used where ADS-B Out is required, and that portable devices could be used for Part 91 operations while commercial airliners would be equipped with next-generation collision avoidance technology once it is certified. It also includes key provisions from the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (PAPA), which AOPA strongly supports, to prohibit the use of ADS-B for anything other than its original purpose—safety and airspace efficiency.

“We appreciate the bipartisan support for the ALERT Act, and all members involved in putting together this comprehensive bill—especially House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen,” said AOPA Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy Jim Coon. “By including PAPA, this bill is positioned to dramatically enhance aviation safety—as it ensures there is no disincentive for pilots to not use this important technology.”

“In this process, airport groups and others have falsely stated that PAPA would limit the ability to impose and collect fees, and that could not be further from the truth,” added Coon. “Folks need to read the bill’s language—there is nothing that prevents anyone from imposing or collecting fees, they just need to use other technologies and not a technology intended to assist in avoiding mid-air collisions. A pilot’s right to privacy and safety concerns far outweigh the use of safety technology for economic gain, especially with equipment that pilots were mandated to purchase and install solely for safety reasons.”

The ALERT Act will now be sent to a House-Senate conference committee, where lawmakers will work out differences with the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act, which passed the U.S. Senate in late 2025, but failed to pass in the House in February.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said both bills would address the agency’s 50 recommendations in its final report following the D.C. midair collision.

In February, at a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said she wants PAPA to become law, “ADS-B is a safety tool, and it should be used for safety, not as a revenue generator,” a practice which she later said, “should be prohibited.”

“Everyone involved has the same goal: making our skies as safe as possible,” said Coon. “We believe lawmakers in both chambers understand that airports are not being prevented from collecting fees and see the importance of ADS-B as a key safety-enhancing technology— and that it should be used for safety and not economic gain.”