Overview

• The FAA's new privacy system lets private jet owners request that their registration details, including names and addresses, be withheld from public access.
• This change, effective March 2025, was mandated by the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, signed into law by President Joe Biden.
• The FAA is evaluating whether to make privacy protections default, which would further limit public access to aircraft ownership information.
• Celebrity jet trackers, which rely on FAA registration data to monitor flights of high-profile individuals like Elon Musk and Taylor Swift, are expected to face significant operational challenges.
• Environmental concerns persist as studies highlight rising emissions from private jet usage, with wealthy individuals increasingly using short flights that contribute disproportionately to carbon emissions.