FAA announces organizational structure overhaul to increase safety

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced on Tuesday the plan to overhaul the FAA's organizational structure. The re-organization will be the largest in the agency's history and will increase safety and transparency. The FAA states the new structure will be well-positioned to implement Flight Plan 2026, a strategy designed to meet the aviation industry's challenges and future opportunities. The three pillars of the plan are people, safety and NAS modernization. "Thanks to President Trump and Republicans in Congress, we received an unprecedented $12.5 billion down payment to modernize our skies," said Duffy. "But funding is only one piece of the puzzle. With these critical organizational changes, the FAA can streamline the bureaucracy, encourage innovation, and deliver a new air traffic control system at the speed of Trump - all while enhancing safety." Part of the overhaul will be the creation of a new safety oversight office, which Congress supported in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization. It will create a single safety management system and risk management strategy for the FAA so that the agency can share safety data. RELATED STORIES: AOPA urges members to support privacy act to end ADS-B misuse NTSB blames multiple failures, FAA lapses for deadly D.C. midair collision House unveils funding bill that could boost FAA budget to $22.2B The FAA will also be launching an Airspace Modernization office and an Advanced Aviation Technologies office. The Airspace Modernization office will focus on the installation of the new ATC system. The Advanced Aviation Technologies office will oversee the integration of drones, eVTOLs and other advanced air mobility aircraft into the U.S. airspace. The administration states that the restructuring will not result in reductions in force, but that the management of finance, IT and human resource divisions will be consolidated under the administrator and certain leadership posts will be moved to permanent positions. "It's important that we have the right people in the right places to do the best work possible," said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. "These actions will put permanent leaders in place who embrace innovation, share safety data and insights freely and are focused on deploying a brand-new air traffic control system all while integrating key innovation technologies into the new National Airspace System (NAS)."