Officials at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association report they continue to hear weekly from pilots expressing frustration and opposition about the use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data for purposes other than its intended purpose — air traffic safety and airspace efficiency.
On Feb. 18, 2025, AOPA President and CEO Darren Pleasance sent a letter to Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau urging the agency to halt the use of ADS-B data in ways that go beyond its original intent.
Pleasance points out in the letter that prior to the FAA’s ADS-B mandate becoming effective in 2020, AOPA supported the mandate “as we were assured ADS-B would only be used to improve air traffic safety and airspace efficiencies.”
However, he points to several recent examples that show the expanding use of ADS-B information outside of its intended purpose, including:
Questionable FAA enforcement actions against legal water landings
Frivolous lawsuits filed against pilots for nuisance, trespass, and causing emotional distress despite operating at high altitude and in full compliance with FAA regulations
Third-party companies using ADS-B data to access personal data to collect airport fees from pilots
“Aircraft owners invested over half a billion dollars of their own money to comply with the ADS-B mandate, believing it would only be used to make flying safer and more efficient. Instead, they are increasingly being targeted with enforcement actions, legal harassment, and bills from third parties to collect airport fees — things that are far from the equipage mandate’s original purpose. We will advocate to protect pilots’ privacy and ensure ADS-B remains a tool used solely for its intended purpose — safety and airspace efficiency,” said Pleasance.
The letter acknowledged past efforts to address ADS-B privacy, but emphasized that more work remains.
“We fully appreciate the efforts and collaboration FAA has had with industry in developing the Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) program and the Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) program. Congress also recently took a positive step to further limit the uses of ADS-B data for certain enforcement actions in last year’s FAA Reauthorization,” the letter reads.
“Unfortunately, given the continued concerns from pilots across the country regarding the use of ADS-B data for non-safety issues, there is more to do in this area, and I look forward to working with you, the FAA, and Congress, to address this important matter,” Pleasance concluded.
You can read the full letter here.
