Fight Gains Steam to Keep ADS-B a Safety Tool, Not a ‘Cash Register’

Support grows for the federal Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act to prevent the use of aviation safety data for collecting pilot fees.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, March 12, 2026 at 10:29 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

U.S. Capitol [Credit: Adobe Stock]

Key Takeaways:

The Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (PAPA) is gaining support to prohibit the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data for collecting fees from pilots.
Advocates, including AOPA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), stress that ADS-B is a safety tool intended for situational awareness and collision avoidance, not revenue generation.
Support for PAPA is widespread, with several states enacting or considering similar laws, and numerous airports endorsing the initiative.
AOPA emphasizes that a uniform federal law is needed to prevent ADS-B from being misused for fee collection, arguing that such use undermines its safety purpose and could discourage pilot adoption.

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Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) was created to enhance aviation safety, not as a revenue-generating tool. That’s the message the nation’s lawmakers are getting as a bill to prohibit the use of ADS-B data to collect fees from pilots by enacting the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (PAPA) is gaining more support.

According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), support for PAPA is growing across the country with state lawmakers and aviation safety officials expressing their support.