Regulatory Alert: FAA to Host Industry Day on Private Investment in Airports

August 21, 2026

This afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the agency will host an industry day event, “America’s Airports: Unleashing Private Investment,” to discuss opportunities for airport sponsors to utilize private investment to fund airport infrastructure projects. The event will be held on September 29, 2026, at 8 a.m.–5 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) headquarters in Washington, D.C. The FAA has invited airport executives, air carriers, operators, investment firms, and regulatory leaders to participate.

Although no agenda or details have been provided yet, we expect the FAA’s industry day will coincide with the release of the agency’s National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) for fiscal years (FY) 2027 to 2031, which must be released before September 30 and is expected to continue to show a significant gap between available and needed funding for airport capital projects. Indeed, the current NPIAS estimates that approximately $67.5 billion is needed for eligible airport projects for FY2025–2029. AAAE believes DOT and FAA will discuss opportunities for private capital to help address the growing funding gap.

The FAA has shared a “Save the Date” that you can view here. If you are interested in participating, you can register for the event here. There is no cost to attend. If you have any questions, you can contact the FAA at 9-ARP-AWA-EventManagement@faa.gov or Justin Barkowski with AAAE at justin.barkowski@aaae.org.