No More Blind Spots: New Bill Mandates Total Tracking for All Aircraft in Congested Class B Airspace

When you’re flying or living near a major airport, the skies get busy. That super-congested airspace right over cities, known as Class B, is where the stakes are highest for air traffic control. This new bill tackles safety in those zones by mandating that every single aircraft operating there—from commercial jets to private planes and even military aircraft—must be equipped with modern digital tracking gear.

The Mandatory Upgrade: ADS-B In and Out

Starting immediately upon its enactment, this legislation requires all manned aircraft operating in Class B airspace to install and use both ADS-B In and ADS-B Out equipment. Think of this as requiring every car on a busy highway to have GPS broadcasting its location (Out) and a system displaying the location of all other cars (In). ADS-B Out broadcasts the aircraft’s precise position, speed, and other data to air traffic control and other planes. ADS-B In receives that data, giving the pilot real-time awareness of nearby traffic. The bill specifies that this equipment must be operational whenever the aircraft is moving, whether on the ground or in the air, and must meet performance standards set by the FAA Administrator (Section 1).

Closing the Safety Loophole

This is where the bill gets tough and removes bureaucratic wiggle room. Crucially, the bill explicitly prohibits the Secretary of Transportation and the FAA Administrator from granting any exemptions to this rule. This means the mandate is absolute for Class B airspace. To reinforce this, the bill specifically repeals a previous provision (Section 1046 of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019) that had allowed certain Department of Defense (DoD) aircraft to fly without this equipment. The message is clear: in the busiest airspace, everyone plays by the same safety rules.

Real-World Impact: Safety vs. Cost

For the flying public, this is a clear win for safety. Standardizing modern tracking technology across all users in Class B airspace—especially by bringing all military aircraft into the fold—significantly reduces the risk of mid-air collisions and improves air traffic controllers' ability to manage traffic flow. It eliminates the risk posed by older aircraft that might otherwise be invisible to the modern tracking systems used by commercial airlines.

However, this mandate comes with a direct cost. Aircraft owners, particularly smaller private operators and the DoD units that relied on previous exemptions, will now face the unavoidable expense of purchasing and installing the FAA-approved ADS-B In and Out systems. While many commercial and private aircraft already comply, this bill ensures 100% compliance in the most critical airspace, placing a new financial burden on those who haven't yet upgraded. The benefit is enhanced safety and situational awareness for everyone in the air, but the cost is borne by the aircraft owners themselves.