Congress·In Committee·H.R. 4146

PAPA Act of 2025

Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act

about 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

The PAPA Act of 2025 is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It has been sent to a subcommittee for review by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The bill is actively moving forward as it awaits further study.

Legislative Progress

House

Senate

President

Law

Unlikely to pass

While privacy is a popular topic, airports will likely fight against rules that limit how they collect fees and spend money. Most bills like this do not make it out of committee.

Key Points

This bill stops government agencies and private companies from using flight tracking data to identify planes just to send the owners a bill. Currently, some groups use this data to track where planes land and charge fees without the pilot's permission.
Air traffic controllers can still use this tracking data to keep the skies safe and manage traffic. However, they cannot use it for other reasons unless the Department of Transportation holds a public meeting and proves it is necessary.
Before an airport can charge private pilots for landing or taking off, they must show the public how they tried to save money in other areas. They also have to explain exactly which safety projects the new fees will pay for and how long it will take to collect the money.
Any money collected from these fees can only be used for safety projects on the airfield, like fixing runways. It cannot be used for other airport expenses that do not directly help with flight safety.
The bill defines general aviation as planes used for personal travel, fun, or flight training. It does not apply to big commercial airlines or military flights.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

3 milestones3 actions

Jun 26, 2025House

Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Jun 25, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Jun 25, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

PAPA Act of 2025

Bill NumberHR 4146

Congress119th Congress

ChamberHouse of Representatives

Latest ActionReferred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(9)

R: 9

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.