Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2024, Part II
This bill temporarily extends specific Federal Aviation and Administration (FAA) programs and activities through May 17, 2024.
For example, the bill extends the FAA
- Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) pilot programs (e.g., the UAS Test Site Program and the UAS remote detection and identification pilot program),
- weather reporting programs, and
- Remote Tower Pilot Program.
The bill also extends the authorization for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). (This program provides grants for planning, development, and noise compatibility projects at or associated with certain public-use airports.)
Further, the bill extends through May 17, 2024, the FAA's authority for expenditures from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund (AATF) and to collect various taxes and fees to fund the AATF, including taxes on aviation fuel and airline tickets. (The AATF is the primary funding source for all major FAA accounts that fund federal aviation programs, with the remainder coming from general fund appropriations.)
The bill also extends through May 17, 2024, the authority of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to take certain actions to mitigate a credible threat to certain facilities or assets from a UAS. These include certain facilities that are located in the United States and identified as high-risk and a potential target for unlawful UAS activity.