AOPA Asks FAA to Reconsider Pulling Single-Pilot Citation Exemptions

Safety deficiencies ‘should have been identified and corrected long before such drastic action…was taken,’ organization says.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 12:50 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Zach Vasile

AOPA and other groups have urged the FAA to rethink decision to rescind single-pilot exemptions for certain Cessna Citation aircraft. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has unexpectedly halted and rescinded single-pilot operation exemptions for certain Cessna Citation jet models, citing safety concerns and widespread noncompliance with existing exemptions.
This decision immediately mandates two-pilot operations for approximately 1,250 U.S.-registered Citation aircraft that were originally certified for two-pilot crews.
Major aviation organizations, including AOPA, NBAA, and CJP, are strongly pushing back against the FAA's "all or nothing" decision, questioning its data, impact on compliant operators, and calling for reconsideration or industry collaboration.

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Pushback to the FAA’s sudden and unexpected move to halt single-pilot operations in certain models of Cessna Citation jets continued this week, with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) becoming the latest to urge the agency to rethink the decision.

The FAA announced the change in a Federal Register notice, citing safety concerns and a 2024 review that “revealed widespread noncompliance with the exemptions.” The agency began granting single-pilot exemptions for Citation aircraft in 1984. Many of them went to training providers under 14 CFR Parts 61, 141, and 142, allowing them to conduct single-pilot operations.