Opinion: Clearing America’s Runway for the Future of Aviation

U.S. must modernize certification process for advanced air mobility aircraft or risk falling behind other nations, including adversaries.

Troy Nehls

Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 09:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Zach Vasile

3D rendering image of an eVTOL [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. aviation industry risks losing its global leadership in advanced air mobility (AAM), particularly for eVTOL aircraft, due to the FAA's current lengthy, opaque, and outdated certification process.
While the FAA has made some positive steps with programs like eIPP, the slow certification process allows foreign adversaries like China to rapidly advance in AAM deployment and regulatory milestones.
To ensure America remains the world's aviation leader, the author advocates for modernizing the FAA certification process through the bipartisan Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act, enhancing transparency, predictability, and accountability.

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The American aviation industry is at a crossroads. We can either choose to embrace the future and unleash American innovation, or we can maintain the status quo and allow other nations, including our foreign adversaries, to surpass us as the world’s leader in aviation.

Advanced air mobility (AAM) has the potential to redefine how we transport passengers and cargo in ways that traditional aviation cannot. While electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) powered-lift aircraft can reshape America’s aviation industry, not a single eVTOL aircraft has received full FAA type certification yet, despite many key industry leaders attempting to do so.