Airport Alert: House Passes AAM Coordination and Leadership Act

The House passed S.516, the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Coordination and Leadership Act late on June 14, which would facilitate collaboration between federal agencies and civil aviation industry leaders to promote AAM technologies and safely integrate AAM into the national airspace system. The bill was passed by a vote of 380-30, making this the second piece of AAM-related legislation to pass the House this week by a significant, bipartisan majority. 

The AAM Coordination and Leadership Act directs DOT to establish an AAM interagency working group with other federal agencies to plan and coordinate efforts related to the safety, infrastructure, physical security, cybersecurity, and federal investment necessary to bolster the AAM ecosystem in the United States. The working group will be tasked to review and make recommendations for the federal role in the AAM sector, beyond the initial critical stage of aircraft certification and operations, with a focus on economic and workforce opportunities, potential physical and digital security risks and mitigations, and infrastructure development. It will also engage with a variety of industry stakeholders, including airports, as well as state, local, and tribal governments, stakeholder associations and labor groups. 

The House slightly amended the language in the Senate-passed bill before approval, meaning the Senate still needs to pass the newly amended bill before it can go to the president's desk to be signed into law. Given the strong bipartisan support for the legislation in both chambers, we expect this to happen in the near future.