Administrator Goes In Depth on the FAA’s Next Act

Bryan Bedford discusses ATC modernization, MOSAIC, and hot-button issues facing general aviation.

Ryan Ewing

Friday, July 17, 2026 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, sitting down for an interview with Firecrown Media Aviation Division president Ryan Ewing, is replacing decade-long plans with Flight Plan 2026 for measurable results.

Key Takeaways:

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford, leveraging his extensive aviation background, is driving the agency to operate with increased speed and a focus on direct operational effectiveness and measurable short-term achievements.
Under presidential mandates, the FAA is urgently pursuing modernization, aiming to build a "brand-new" air traffic control system by 2028, integrate advanced automation and AI, and streamline controller staffing and training.
The agency is also shifting towards performance-based regulations (like MOSAIC) to unlock innovation in general aviation and the drone sector, prioritizing safety outcomes over prescriptive rules.
Bedford expressed concern over landing fees impacting general aviation access and potentially leading to unsafe pilot behavior, while identifying the outdated physical infrastructure of FAA facilities as the most significant long-term challenge due to underinvestment.

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Bryan Bedford took over leadership of the FAA in July 2025 after a long career in commercial aviation, including senior roles at Republic Airways and Frontier Airlines. He is an instrument-rated pilot, an aircraft owner, and one of the few recent agency leaders to arrive in Washington, D.C., with direct experience in both a general aviation cockpit and the airline C-suite.

Some in aviation may also remember him from an appearance on reality TV’s Undercover Boss, a fitting footnote for an executive whose management style has long emphasized seeing operations up close rather than from a distance. So close, in fact, that Bedford can be seen in the show servicing lavatories on a Frontier Airbus jet.