The Latest Airport Legislation from Washington
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: Confirmation Hearing Held for Senator Mullin to Become the Next DHS Secretary
The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held a confirmation hearing with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who President Trump has nominated to be the next Secretary of DHS.
03/18/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: AAAE Implores Congress to End the DHS Shutdown and Restore Pay for Critical Federal Employees
AAAE President and CEO, Todd Hauptli, and ACI-NA President and CEO, Kevin Burke, send a letter to House and Senate leadership imploring them to work with the administration to end the funding impasse for the Department of Homeland Security.
03/17/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: AAAE and ACI-NA Seeking Individual Airport Leader Signatures on Joint Letter Calling for an End to the DHS Shutdown
As a follow up to the joint letter sent by AAAE and ACI-NA earlier today calling on congressional leaders to end the DHS shutdown, we are seeking the signatures of individual airport leaders on a joint airport letter to Capitol Hill with the same message.
03/17/2026
Airport Alert
ACTION ALERT: House Committee Planning to Consider Revised Aviation Safety Bill With PAPA Provisions Next Week
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.
03/13/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: Global Entry Resumes at Airports; AAAE Continues to Press for an End to the DHS Shutdown
According to multiple press reports, Global Entry has resumed operations.
03/11/2026
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: AAAE Responds to FAA’s Proposed Aircraft Altimeter Retrofit Requirements
AAAE submits comments in response to FAA's proposed rule that would require all legacy aircraft equipped with radio altimeters to upgrade or retrofit their altimeters to ensure they can withstand potential interference from 5G and other advanced wireless signals.
03/10/2026
Airport Alert
Action Alert: Airport Input Needed ASAP to Stop Addition of AOPA-Backed PAPA to House Aviation Safety Bill
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.
03/09/2026
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: DOT/FAA Announce Eight Projects for New eVTOL Integration Pilot Program
DOT and FAA announce eight projects selected for the Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Integration Pilot Program (eIPP).
03/09/2026
Security Alert
Security Policy Alert: Kristi Noem Out as DHS Secretary
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump announced that he plans to nominate Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin as the next Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
03/05/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: ROTOR Act Fails in House; Committee Action on ALERT Act Could Come as Soon as Next Week
The House of Representatives fails to provide the two-thirds majority needed to approve the Senate-passed Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act.
02/24/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: DHS Halts PreCheck and Global Entry
In an early morning press release, the Department of Homeland Security announced that effective 6 am Eastern, it has closed all TSA PreCheck lanes, eliminated courtesy escorts, and halted all Global Entry arrival processing at participating airports.
02/22/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: Status Update About TSA PreCheck Lanes
This morning, TSA held a call with AAAE and other aviation industry associations to provide additional information about DHS’ announcement that they were closing PreCheck lanes.
02/22/2026
Regulatory Alert
Regulatory Alert: FAA Releases Updated Airport Compliance Manual
FAA releases an update to FAA Order 5190.6, known as the “Airport Compliance Manual."
02/20/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House to Consider ROTOR Act Next Week
When the House of Representatives returns next week, lawmakers are set to vote on Senate-passed aviation safety legislation (S. 2503) known as the Rotorcraft Operations Transparency and Oversight Reform (ROTOR) Act.
02/19/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House Committee Leaders Unveil Broad Aviation Safety Bill
The bipartisan leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the House Armed Services Committee have released the text of their broad aviation safety bill, known as the Airspace Location and Enhanced Risk Transparency (ALERT) Act.
02/19/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: DHS Shutdown Very Likely After February 13
The Senate failed to vote to proceed to the House-passed H.R.7147, Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026.
02/12/2026
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: NTSB Chair Discusses DCA Crash and Endorses PAPA Bill in Senate Commerce Hearing
The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing regarding the NTSB’s investigation into the January 2025 DCA midair collision involving American Eagle flight 5342 and a U.S. Army helicopter.
02/12/2026
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: House Hearing on Impacts of a Potential DHS Shutdown
The House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee holds a hearing to discuss the impacts of a shutdown on DHS agencies.
02/11/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House Passes FY26 Funding Bills for DOT/FAA and Other Departments
After narrowly clearing a procedural hurdle, the House of Representatives has passed a consolidated appropriations measure that provides funding through September for DOT/FAA.
02/03/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: Senate Working to OK Government Funding Bills
The plan was for the Senate to approve the final, House-passed six-bill package this week prior to the January 30 deadline on which federal funding expires under the continuing resolution approved in November.
01/30/2026
Airport Alert
Action Alert: Airport Input Needed to Highlight Opposition to Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act
Following a call to action late last week from AOPA, we need airports to weigh in with your congressional delegation – particularly members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
01/26/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: House Approves Measures to Fund DOT/FAA and DHS/TSA/CBP
The House approves two separate measures that would fund DOT/FAA, DHS/TSA/CBP, and other federal departments and agencies beyond January 30 for the remainder of FY26.
01/22/2026
Airport Alert
Hearing Report: TSA Testifies About Its Priorities Before the House Homeland Security Committee
Ha McNeill, TSA's Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator, testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee at its first oversight hearing of 2026.
01/21/2026
Airport Alert
Airport Alert: Appropriations Leaders Unveil Final FY26 DOT/FAA and DHS/TSA/CBP Spending Bills
Bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee released the text of the final four bills to fund key federal departments and agencies – including DOT/FAA and DHS/TSA/CBP – through the remainder of the fiscal year. The
01/20/2026
Security Alert
Security Policy Alert: TSA Issues Guidance for ConfirmID
Per TSA, starting February 1, 2026, passengers who do not present an acceptable form of ID (including non-REAL ID compliant state-issued identification) at TSA checkpoints may verify their ID using TSA ConfirmID.
01/13/2026
