FAA Reauthorization: Key Takeaways from the 1,069-Page Bill

01.05.2024 - 18:45 / skift.com / Pete Buttigieg / Joe Biden / Jennifer Homendy

After months of short-term funding to keep the Federal Aviation Administration afloat, Congress just unveiled a new reauthorization bill that covers everything from pilot training to family seating. 

The new reauthorization bill, which the Senate is set to vote on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET, also addresses the air-traffic controller shortage and technology initiatives to reduce the chance of near collisions on runways. 

The bill also authorizes over $105 billion in appropriations for the FAA from the fiscal years of 2024 through 2028. 

Here are some key takeaways from the 1,069-page bill:

The new reauthorization bill codifies refunds and airline credits into law, particularly when an airline significantly cancels or delays a flight. 

The bill also mandates that passengers receive refunds either within seven days if a flight was booked with a credit card, or within 20 if a different form of payment was used. 

Refunds are required if a domestic flight was delayed by at least three hours or if an international flight is delayed by at least six. Airlines will also be required to display easy-to-find refund request buttons on their websites.

While much of the policy falls in line with a Department of Transportation rule released April 24, it raises some questions on the enforceability of automatic refunds. 

The DOT’s rule mandated that airlines give passengers automatic refunds if a flight is significantly delayed or canceled, regardless of the reason. However, the FAA bill states that passengers can receive these refunds “upon written or electronic request.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters after a House hearing on Tuesday that he believed the automatic refunds rule could withstand legal challenges, despite the FAA bill, according to a Bloomberg reporter on X.

The bill also sets a standard for airline credits. When an airline issues credits instead of a refund, they cannot expire for at least five years.

The new bill requires all commercial airplanes, including newly manufactured ones, to be equipped with 25-hour cockpit recording devices. The National Transportation Safety Board lobbied for this provision for years since many cockpit recordings in safety investigations end up overwritten.

For example, an issue in the Alaska Airlines blowout investigation was that the cockpit audio was lost. The NTSB couldn’t use the audio to determine mechanical noises or verbal communication as a door plug suddenly blew off an Alaska Boeing 737 Max 9. The FAA has historically required such recordings to be preserved for two hours. 

NTSB Jennifer Homendy told reporters in January that the loss of the cockpit audio for the Alaska flight was “a loss for the FAA and a loss for safety.”

Due to a