![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Michael_Whitaker_2023_1_0.jpg\")
Whitaker will serve a five-year term ending in 2028 and will\nbecome the FAA\u2019s first permanent leader since Steve Dickson resigned in March\n2022. Acting administrator Polly Trottenberg, who has been in the role since\nJune, was prohibited from serving in the role past October 25. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement released by the National Association of State\nAviation Officials (NASAO), President and CEO Greg Pecoraro said that state\ngovernment aviation agencies have had a longstanding partnership with the FAA\nin supporting the National Aviation System and they look forward to continuing\nthat partnership with Administrator Whitaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While previously at the agency, he also led the FAA\u2019s air\ntraffic modernization efforts as the chief NextGen officer. Whitaker also stood\nup the agency\u2019s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration Office, the first\nFAA organization dedicated to UAS operations in the National Airspace System\n(NAS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCongratulations to Mike Whitaker on his well-deserved\nconfirmation as FAA administrator,\u201d said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. \u201cWe\nlook forward to working with Mike, whose expertise will help chart a clear path\ntoward a successful future for the aviation community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lisa Ellman, Executive Director of the Commercial Drone\nAlliance said the dedicated professionals at the FAA and the entire aviation\nindustry deserve the continuity and consistency that a Senate-confirmed leader\nprovides. \u201cWe look forward to working with Mr. Whitaker to address long-overdue\nadvanced aviation regulatory matters, such as enabling beyond visual line of\nsight drone operations. Only then can the U.S. fully realize the significant\nsocietal benefits of commercial drones and regain its position as a global\nleader in advanced aviation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NATA President and CEO Curt Castagna said the tremendous\nbipartisan support he received in both Congressional chambers and from a broad\nswath of industry stakeholders speaks to his qualifications as well as his\ncharacter. \u201cAfter more than 18 months without a permanent leader at the\nAgency\u2019s helm, NATA looks forward to partnering with Administrator Whitaker to\nrecruit a resilient aviation workforce within the FAA and the industry, usher\nin safe commercial operation of the next generation of aircraft and invest in\nour nation\u2019s critical network of more than 5,000 airports \u2013 priorities he\nhighlighted at his confirmation hearing earlier this month.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI am really pleased the Senate took action to confirm Mike\nand look forward to working with him to help pilots and to move GA forward,\u201d\nsaid AOPA President Mark Baker. \u201cHe\u2019s a capable leader, knows aviation, knows\nthe agency, and he\u2019s a private pilot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Aviation associations applauded the confirmation of Michael Whitaker as the next head of the Federal Aviation Administration. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Whitaker \u2013 an attorney and private pilot \u2013 who will be returning to lead the agency where he served as deputy FAA administrator from 2013-2016. Whitaker currently serves as chief operating officer at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27010"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27012,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27010\/revisions\/27012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}