Agency Administrator Bryan Bedford discussed the FAA’s ambitious plans to modernize the nation’s air traffic control (ATC) system and improve access to the National Airspace System (NAS) during a wide-ranging conversation with NBAA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Kristie Greco Johnson at the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE).
Bedford emphasized the FAA's new ATC system initiative, which extends beyond replacing aging equipment. While Congress has committed an initial $12.5 billion toward replacing decades-old radar systems, radios, voice switches and copper-wire infrastructure, the agency has requested an additional $30 billion to fully achieve its objectives.
"We need to continue to hire controllers at a record pace and get them properly trained and get them dispatched to places of need," he said. "And then finally, where the real magic will happen is when we get a chance to work on airspace redesign."
That effort also includes improved aircraft navigation capabilities, particularly in high-density markets, and a transition toward trajectory-based operations that could significantly improve the efficiency of aircraft movements throughout the NAS.
Bedford defended previous modernization efforts like NextGen, which delivered important safety improvements but fell short of creating an integrated system that could efficiently accommodate growing demand. "A lot of good things happened," he added. "It just never got integrated into something that would actually help airplanes move more efficiently from point A to point B."
Transparency is also key to the project, with Bedford noting the agency had achieved more than 98.5% of its annual goals through September 2026 and is expected to publish its Flight Plan 2027 shortly.
Johnson cited unprecedented cooperation among aviation stakeholders supporting the effort, including NBAA's participation in the Modern Skies Coalition.
"We've come together as an industry in a way we have never done before," she said. "Labor, operators, commercial and general aviation [and] manufacturers, all to support this project. We are working with Congress, lobbying together.”
Greater Access for Business Aviation
Bedford also highlighted the FAA's Strategic Management of Airspace Routes and Trajectories (SMART) initiative, which seeks to improve predictability by identifying potential traffic conflicts before aircraft depart.
Calling today’s ATC system “highly reactive, overstressed [and] underperforming,” Bedford noted SMART instead uses sophisticated AI computing capabilities to analyze flight trajectories and identify conflicts and available capacity throughout the NAS.
Johnson asked how such a system would accommodate business aviation's unique on-demand operational requirements, rather than primarily benefiting scheduled commercial airlines. "I think it's a huge improvement for business aviation,” Bedford responded, “because today you have zero visibility into access into the national airspace system.”
The discussion also addressed ongoing ATC telecommunications outages and the need to build greater redundancy into the nation's aviation infrastructure. Bedford explained that simply replacing copper lines with fiber-optic connections will not eliminate vulnerabilities when multiple communications paths share the same physical infrastructure.
"There should be an A, a B and a C channel [for backup],” he said. “We're doing that, getting into low-Earth-orbit satellites, getting the mobile applications. We're trying to get out of [using] wire altogether."
Seeking a Path Forward on SPE Operations
Johnson also raised concerns about the FAA's recent decision to rescind the single-pilot exemption that permitted single-pilot operations in certain legacy Cessna Citation jets originally certificated for two pilots.
Bedford said the decision followed the agency's review of training compliance concerns and accident data indicating that aircraft operating under the exemptions had an accident rate more than twice that of comparable dual-pilot operations.
"In order to achieve any exemption, the FAA asks one question: Can we find an alternative that will give us an equivalent level of safety?" he added. "If we can't get to at least an equivalent level of safety, we shouldn't be entertaining it."
Johnson stressed NBAA's commitment to enhancing safety while seeking workable solutions for operators affected by the decision. She pointed to ongoing collaboration with the Citation Jet Pilots Association and potential resolutions such as additional training or supplemental type certification (STC).
"We all stress that collaboration is key to safety, and that open dialogue is important," Johnson said. "We believe that there's some compelling data that might provide a path to allowing single-pilot operations with some training, with an STC."
Bedford welcomed continued discussions, calling the STC approach "an interesting process" that was "worthy of scrutiny."