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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.
“When the nation’s leading transportation safety expert, state legislatures, airports, companies, and hundreds of thousands of pilots all support PAPA, it’s time to address this situation,” said Jim Coon, AOPA senior vice president of government affairs and advocacy. “ADS-B data should never be used for accessing a pilot’s personal information or for being used as a cash register. It should be used for its intended purpose—to give pilots situational awareness to help avoid mid-air collisions and for concrete airspace efficiencies.”
Coon added that none of these bills as written at the federal or state level would prevent an airport sponsor from levying “necessary and appropriate” fees.”
“Anyone claiming that is just spreading misinformation,” Coon said. “They simply block the use of this safety-enhancing tool to collect [fees]. In light of the DCA accident last year, Congress is debating an ADS-B mandate. That safety goal is undermined as long as this safety tool is being used for collecting fees and not enhancing safety.”
Several states have passed similar bills to block the use of ADS-B to gather fees. The first was Montana in May 2025, and the latest was Florida, with that state’s House of Representatives passing SB 422 on Wednesday.
Other states are considering legislation to ban ADS-B Out use as a revenue tool, including Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Arizona.
“We are grateful to state lawmakers across the country who recognize the importance of this issue and its impact on aviation safety,” Coon said. “Despite the state-level momentum, a patchwork solution isn’t enough to make the skies safer for all of us. Only Congress can fully resolve this problem with a uniform law for all states.”
Airports in a number of states—including Illinois, Massachusetts, Florida, New Jersey, California, and Ohio—have also endorsed PAPA.
During a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on February 12, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said the practice of using ADS-B to gather pilot information should be prohibited.
“ADS-B is a safety tool, and it should be used for safety, not as a revenue generator to charge general aviation pilots ramp fees or landing fees,” said Homendy, adding that ADS-B-derived fees could discourage pilots from installing or using the technology.
Mike Ginter, AOPA Air Safety Institute senior vice president, said ADS-B has been a game changer for GA pilots.
“While we’re in one of the safest periods for general aviation in our nation’s history, there is a lot of concern out there that the continued use of ADS-B to charge fees would reverse that trend,” Ginter said.
