House passes four bills to strengthen the U.S. aviation leadership.

The House of Representatives passed four bills that are meant to strengthen the United States' aviation leadership. The Supersonic Aviation Modernization Act (H.R.3410) directs the FAA to allow civil aircraft to operate at speeds above Mach 1 under specific conditions. Aircraft will be able to travel at supersonic speeds in national airspace without any special authorization as long as no sonic boom reaches the ground in the United States. The FAA will also be required to establish noise standards that prevent aircraft traveling at supersonic speeds from exceeding takeoff and landing noise levels required for subsonic aircraft. The administration would have to create a process to review and update the noise standards to reflect future advances. Supersonic flights have not been allowed in the U.S. since 1973. The act was introduced by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) in 2025 shortly before President Donald Trump signed an executive order to take steps toward allowing supersonic flights. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed the bill in Dec. 2025. The Airmen Certificate Accessibility Act (H.R.2247) allows pilots to show digital copies of certain certificates when required to present those documents to an FAA inspector or other official. Currently, pilots must show a physical copy of an airman certificate and other paperwork upon a request. The Aviation Supply Chain Safety and Security Digitization Act of 2025 (H.R. 6267) requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the negative effects of digital documentation and verification in the aviation supply chain when used as an aid in identifying falsified documentation and counterfeit parts. The GAO will submit the results of the study to Congress and provide recommendations on how to encourage the industry and the FAA's adoption of digital documentation and authentication tools. The DOT would have 120 days to respond to the recommendations afterwards. The Airport Regulatory Relief Act of 2025 (H.R. 6427) reduces the requirements for the FAA to allow a state to use its state highway standards, instead of federal standards, for airfield pavement projects at certain smaller commercial aviation airports. Currently, if a non-primary commercial service airport serves aircraft with a gross weight of up to 60,000 pounds, the state may request the use of state standards. The FAA would determine if this would negatively affect safety or shorten the lifespan of the pavement. With the new bill, the state would only be required to notify that non-primary airports intend to use the state standards and the FAA would have six months to determine if state standards would negatively affect safety. RELATED STORIES: NBAA holds CLIMBING. FAST. Fly-In to discuss goal of net-zero carbon emissions Bill introduced in House and Senate to improve aircraft certification process Trump signs shutdown-ending bill, boosting FAA funding "NBAA commends the House for passing these measures, which are key to preserving America's global leadership in aviation and aerospace," said Ed Bolen, NBAA president and CEO. "Taken together, the bills promote innovation in aircraft development, efficiency through increased use of digitization and investment in aviation infrastructure - all priorities long championed by NBAA and other industry stakeholders. We encourage the Senate to pass the four bills as soon as possible."