National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen applauded U.S. Senate passage of the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Coordination and Leadership Act (S. 516), a bill that will facilitate the creation of policies, procedures and programs to support the integration of this emerging aviation sector into the country’s transportation infrastructure.
“AAM is expanding the very definition of on-demand air mobility and presenting the United States with the opportunity to enhance the country’s leadership in all aspects of aviation,” said Bolen. “We welcome this legislation, and we thank the bill’s sponsors, Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), for championing this exciting new technology.”
The Senate bill, and a companion bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 1339) in November 2021, instruct the Department of Transportation to establish an AAM interagency working group to coordinate efforts related to the safety, operations, infrastructure, physical security, cybersecurity and federal investment necessary to bolster the AAM ecosystem in the U.S.
The bill is part of a broader legislative and regulatory effort supported by NBAA and industry stakeholders. This includes NBAA’s work with the Federal Aviation Administration to draft guidance on vertiports, and with Transportation Security Administration officials on security best practices.
NBAA’s advocacy also led to the introduction of the Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization (AAIM) Act. That bill directs the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to create a pilot program to offer planning and construction grants to support the development of the necessary infrastructure to support AAM operations, including public use vertiports. The AAIM Act has attracted a growing list of bi-partisan co-sponsors, and NBAA continues to advocate for its passage.
