• 2025-08-28

    Aviation meteorologists: Urgent actions needed to address staffing concerns

    A August 2025 U.S. Government Accountability Office report warns that staffing shortages among National Weather Service meteorologists embedded at FAA air traffic control centers may pose risks to the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System. These meteorologists provide critical real-time weather briefings to air traffic controllers to help route flights safely around severe weather, but a February 2025 amendment to the FAA-NWS interagency agreement reduced the required staffing level from 90 to 81 positions. The GAO urges urgent action from the Departments of Transportation and Commerce before the interagency agreement expires in September 2025.
  • 2025-08-08

    Stone LLP | Complete List of FAA Grant Assurances

    Complete List Of FAA Grant Assurances Complied by the Airport & Aviation Attorneys at STONE LLP Grant Assurances Applicable To Airports and Airport Sponsors As of the writing of this webpage, the FAA mandates a total of 39 grant assurances and these apply to each airport’s performance of its grant agreement with the federal government
  • 2025-08-07

    More than 1,000 United Airlines flights delayed in the US due to technology problem

    By  JACK BROOK and LISA BAUMANN A technology issue prompted United Airlines to ground planes at major U.S. airports Wednesday and more than 1,000 flights were delayed. The impacted system, called Unimatic, houses flight information that is fed to other systems including those that calculate weight and balance and track flight times, according to United. It’s not clear
  • 2025-07-07

    Significant Changes to the National Environmental Policy Act Affecting Airport Projects

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) has seen seismic changes in the past several months. On June 30, 2025, FAA rescinded its previous NEPA procedures and issued new Order 1050.1G, Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures, to address the recent rescission of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations, recent Executive Orders, and a recent
  • 2025-07-02

    14 CFR part 150 — Airport noise compatibility planning

    14 CFR Part 150 sets out the federal rules for airport noise compatibility planning, establishing how airports must measure noise, map affected areas, and develop programs to reduce conflicts between aircraft noise and nearby land uses. It defines key terms such as day-night average sound level (DNL), compatible and noncompatible land use, and noise exposure maps, and it outlines the process by which the FAA reviews and approves or disapproves airport noise compatibility programs. Importantly, FAA approval of such a program does not itself commit federal funding or authorize specific actions without further environmental review.
  • 2025-07-02

    14 CFR part 150 — Airport noise compatibility planning

    14 CFR Part 150 sets out the federal rules for airport noise compatibility planning, establishing how airports must measure noise, map affected areas, and develop programs to reduce conflicts between aircraft noise and nearby land uses. It defines key terms such as day-night average sound level (DNL), compatible and noncompatible land use, and noise exposure maps, and it outlines the process by which the FAA reviews and approves or disapproves airport noise compatibility programs. Importantly, FAA approval of such a program does not itself commit federal funding or authorize specific actions without further environmental review.
  • 2025-05-13

    Opposition to proposed revisions in FAA grant program, removing Environmental Justice, Climate, and Leaded fuel requirements

    Re https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FAA-2025-0605 Our comment to https://www.regulations.gov/docket/FAA-2025-0605 on the negative impacts new FAA regulations will have on Sea-Tac and KCIA airport communities. Although the new regulations are confined to the AIP grant program, because they are being implemented via Executive Order, it is likely that similar features will be tacked onto all FAA programs concerning leaded
  • 2025-05-11

    Key Provisions in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act and Related GAO Work

    GAO-25-108502 Published: May 15, 2025. Publicly Released: May 15, 2025. Fast Facts The U.S. national airspace system is the busiest and most complex in the world, with over 45,000 flights per day. The Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024 directs FAA on how the agency is to ensure its safety and efficiency. We testified
  • 2025-05-08

    A Frightening Moment to Fly (The Daily Podcast)

    A 90-second failure of Newark Airport’s air-traffic safety systems, which blacked out communication to planes carrying thousands of passengers, has exposed a new level of crisis in air travel. Kate Kelly, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, explains what the problems at one of the country’s biggest airports tell us about air-travel safety