Photo: SHUTTERSTOCK The United States Department of Transportation has announced a comprehensive reorganization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), described as the largest organizational move in the agency's history.
The plan was announced by US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and FAA Administrator Brian Bedford, and is designed to improve safety, promote technological innovation, and increase transparency in the agency's operations.
The move will establish, for the first time, a safety oversight unit that will operate a unified safety management system for the entire FAA. The move, which was already approved as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, is intended to unify safety metrics that have previously operated separately and enable broader sharing of risk and safety data within the organization.
Among the key changes included in the reform:
- establishing a dedicated office for airspace modernization, which will accompany the development and implementation of the new US air traffic management system;
- establishing an office for advanced aviation technologies, which will be responsible for integrating drones, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (e-VTOL) and other advanced aviation technologies in the airspace;
- transferring senior management positions to permanent appointments.
In addition, the management of finance, information systems, and human resources will be centralized under the FAA administrator to streamline processes and reduce bureaucracy. The Ministry of Transportation emphasizes that the organizational change will not include layoffs.
According to Transportation Secretary Duffy, the reform complements the approved budget for the modernization of American airspace. He said that in addition to funding, structural adjustments that will allow the FAA to operate more efficiently, encourage innovation, and implement an advanced air traffic system are also required.
Bedford also emphasized that the new structure is designed to place the right people in key positions, enable the sharing of safety information between different units, and promote the integration of new technologies into the national airspace system.
The new structure is designed to support the implementation of the FAA's Flight Plan 2026, which focuses on three key areas: workforce, safety, and airspace modernization. This framework will include dedicated offices for policy and law, airspace modernization, advanced aviation technologies, air traffic, commercial space transportation, and security and intelligence.