FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency is closely watching the growing controversy over airport landing fees and warned that the use of ADS-B data in ways that could encourage pilots to disable safety equipment crosses a line for regulators.
In an interview with FLYING ahead of the magazine’s Ultimate Issue, Bedford said airports are generally permitted to charge for services but added that “how they go about that matters” and “how they assess the fees” does as well.
“I think what’s got people upset is the fact that we have created a safety technology called ADS-B,” Bedford said. “Aircraft are certainly better with it. Pilot situational awareness is better with it. But if we have people making a bad safety decision to avoid rates and charges, that’s where I think the FAA wants to throw the penalty flag … that’s not the intended use of ADS-B.”
The issue has become a flash point in general aviation as more airports and local authorities explore or implement fee programs that pilots maintain rely on ADS-B-related tracking data. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) said at the end of 2025 that more than 100 airports had begun charging fees, usually for landing, and has since backed state and federal efforts aimed at preventing ADS-B from being used as a revenue-collection tool.
Bedford did not say the FAA was preparing immediate new rulemaking on the matter, but he drew a distinction between airport operators’ ability to levy charges and the unintended safety consequences that could follow if pilots respond by switching off avionics.
He called ADS-B a “critical safety tool” and said it should not be used in a way that leads pilots to turn off systems to avoid fees.
State Lawmakers Taking Notice
That debate has also spilled into statehouses. In Florida, lawmakers advanced legislation this year that would limit the use of ADS-B data for collecting airport fees, joining similar efforts elsewhere as pilot groups argue the practice could undermine adoption and use of safety technology.
Bedford was more cautious when asked where the FAA draws the line between legitimate airport cost recovery and preserving affordable access for flight training. He said he was aware of the issue and acknowledged that some states and municipalities have been “moving in a different direction,” adding that the question is “on the radar.”
Bedford’s full interview will appear in FLYING’s Ultimate Issue in June.