ACTION ALERT: House Committee Planning to Consider Revised Aviation Safety Bill With PAPA Provisions Next Week

March 13, 2026

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is planning to mark up a modified aviation safety bill next week, and we expect that it will include a variation of the PAPA Act – an AOPA-backed proposal that would prevent airports from using ADS-B to collect takeoff and landing fees. The new development and quick timing underscore the need for airports to contact their House lawmakers as soon as possible.

Committee Action Next Week: The T&I Committee is planning to mark up the revised version of the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act on Wednesday. However, the committee has not officially noticed the markup, and it’s possible that timing could slip.

Urgent Request: The Committee has yet to release the revised ALERT Act, so we are awaiting more details. But it is our understanding that the revised bill will include some variation of the PAPA Act, which would prevent airports from using ADS-B to collect user fees. Unfortunately, it looks as if the PAPA provisions have been added as part of the ongoing negotiations to reach a broad, bipartisan agreement on the safety requirements in the underlying bill.

With this latest development, it’s critical that airports reach out to their House lawmakers today and over the weekend to voice your opposition to including PAPA provisions in the ALERT Act. It is particularly important for airports to contact to their lawmakers if they serve on the T&I Committee.

PAPA Act: The PAPA Act – H.R. 4146/S. 2175 – would prohibit airports from using ADS-B to collect takeoff and landing fees. AAAE and ACI-NA are continuing to urge lawmakers to reject the proposal and have pointed out that airports rely on revenue from those user fees to support airport operations and to fund critical safety projects. Restricting airports’ ability to use efficient technology to collect user fees would also force airports to shift costs to other users.

ALERT Act: The ALERT Act is aimed at implementing the recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board following last year’s tragic accident at DCA. T&I Committee leaders have been busy this month revising the ALERT Act, in part, to address issues raised by the NTSB and the families of Flight 5342. Expected committee action next week comes after the House narrowly rejected the Senate-passed ROTOR Act late last month (see our Alert).

Background Material

• 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

Thanks for your help with this urgent request. 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.