NBAA Hails Law to Support Advanced Air Mobility Development

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) welcomed President Biden’s signing into law this week of the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act, which will promote policies, procedures and programs to support the integration of this emerging aviation sector into America’s transportation infrastructure.

Advanced air mobility (AAM) is an air transportation system that moves people and property by air between places using electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, in local, regional, intraregional, rural, and urban environments.

AAM utilizes aircraft ranging in size from single-passenger vehicles to large shuttles to make cities, underserved communities and geographically distant regions more accessible.

“We thank President Biden and the sponsors of the Advanced Air Mobility Coordination and Leadership Act — Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Reps. Garret Graves (R-6-LA) and Sharice Davids (D-3-KS) — for this important law,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “AAM will enhance on-demand air mobility and help make the United States a leader in this exciting space.”

The law instructs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish an AAM interagency working group to coordinate government efforts related to the safety, operations, infrastructure, physical security, cybersecurity and federal investment necessary to bolster the AAM ecosystem in the U.S.

The legislation calls AAM “a key area of sustainable transportation and economic growth for the United States” and recognizes that “it is imperative that the federal government foster leadership and interagency collaboration in the adoption and deployment of this technology.”

NBAA worked to get the bill passed through Congress as part of a larger effort by the association and its stakeholders to promote AAM, including working with federal agencies to draft guidance on vertiports and security best practices.

NBAA is also supporting another bill, the Advanced Aviation Infrastructure Modernization (AAIM) Act, which directs the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to create a pilot program to offer planning and construction grants to support the development of needed infrastructure to support AAM operations, such as public-use vertiports. That bill was introduced last December by House Aviation Subcommittee Chair Rick Larsen (D-2-WA) and House Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-6-LA).

In addition, NBAA last year launched the AAM Roundtable, aimed at providing a forum for high-level policy planning with sector leaders to help integrate AAM technologies into U.S. airspace and transportation infrastructure.