September 15, 2026. Media contact: media@raa.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Regional Airline Association today praised the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee for advancing the bipartisan Air Traffic Situational Awareness Enhancement Act (S. 3929), which would improve situational awareness at federal contract towers that lack STARS or a comparable capability.
The legislation would direct FAA to acquire and install Airborne Position Reference Tools at qualifying contract towers, provide controller training and federal funding, and reimburse airports that have already invested in qualifying systems. More than 90 of the nation’s 266 federal contract towers currently lack this capability. Companion legislation, H.R. 8597, cleared the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earlier this week.
“Controllers at smaller and rural contract tower airports should have the situational awareness tools they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. This bill addresses a specific safety gap by bringing real-time positional awareness to more of these facilities,” said Faye Malarkey Black, RAA President & CEO.
“We thank Senators Tim Sheehy and Jeff Merkley for their partnership with RAA in developing this bipartisan legislation, and cosponsors Senators Steve Daines and Ron Wyden for helping move it forward. We also thank Chairman Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell for advancing it through committee. With legislation now through committee in both chambers, we look forward to continuing the work to get this legislation enacted.”
The Regional Airline Association (RAA) provides a unified voice of advocacy for North American regional airlines aimed at promoting a safe, reliable, and strong regional airline industry. RAA serves as an important support network connecting regional airlines and industry business partners. Regional airlines operate 32% of U.S. scheduled passenger flights and provide the only source of scheduled air service to 64% of the nation’s airports. Regional airlines provide more than 70% of the air service in West Virginia (92%), Alaska (85%), North Dakota (80%), Kansas (75%), Arkansas (75%), Alabama (75%), and Vermont (74%). Regional airlines provide more than half of the air service in Mississippi (68%), South Dakota (68%), Maine (67%), Idaho (67%), Wyoming (66%), New Hampshire (63%), Montana (63%), Wisconsin (53%), Iowa (53%), Virginia (52%), Kentucky (51%), and Indiana (51%).