“As Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation, I’m so proud that this bill includes many of my priorities-including my EVAC Act and a provision that upholds strong pilot certification standards-to help make flying safer and more accessible for all Americans. “The bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act is a win for aviation safety advocates and the flying public,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth, Chair of the Aviation Safety Subcommittee. Today’s action moves us much closer to a final FAA reauthorization that makes the nation’s aviation system safer and more reliable.” I want to thank my Republican and Democrat colleagues alike for their hard work on this bill. The legislation will also nurture innovation and nascent technology like air taxis, hypersonic planes, and unmanned aircraft. “With the aviation industry facing serious challenges, this legislation charts a course to address many of them while also modernizing and transforming the FAA's operations. “This bipartisan bill will help ensure the FAA can improve at its core mission of keeping the flying public safe,” said Senator Ted Cruz, Ranking Member of the Committee. We need to make the right investments, hire the best-skilled workers and make our aviation safety system the gold standard of the world.” It forces airlines to improve customer service-establishing mandatory refunds for flight disruptions and barring carriers from charging extra for families to sit together. “The bill will put more FAA safety inspectors on factory floors and more air traffic controllers in towers. 'This bipartisan bill delivers improvements to aviation safety and consumer protections that Americans have been demanding,” said Senator Maria Cantwell, Chair of the Committee. The legislation includes several provisions to strengthen safety standards and oversight at the FAA and responds to safety concerns from recent aviation accidents and near-misses. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation passed the bipartisan Senate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2023.

Increases FAA safety inspectors, air traffic controllers, FAA oversight of foreign repair stations Requires FAA safety technology deployment to prevent near-misses, 25-hour cockpit voice recorders, investigations of service difficulty reports Sets refund standards for non-refundable tickets, protects vouchers for five years, prohibits fees for family seating, triples fines for airline consumer violations

Faa drone license medical requirements