Overview

• Bedford reaffirmed his commitment to make safety the FAA’s top priority, citing January’s midair collision and 85 near misses near Reagan National Airport.
• Pilots’ unions and Democratic senators urged him to uphold the 1,500-hour flight experience rule, warning against proposals to hire less experienced aviators.
• The FAA has banned certain helicopter routes and launched a nationwide data review to prevent airspace conflicts, though additional near misses have been reported in Las Vegas and Washington.
• The air traffic controllers union endorsed Bedford’s nomination, highlighting his support for a multi-billion-dollar plan to upgrade outdated radar and communication systems.
• Spring radar outages at Newark Liberty International led to flight restrictions and controller trauma leave, spotlighting the urgent need to modernize the national air-traffic control infrastructure.