ACC Legislative Alert
14 November 2025
ACC participated in an invitation-only industry workshop at FAA headquarters last month, as part of a series of meetings on the update to the AIP Handbook. During the meeting, the FAA briefed stakeholders on specific nuances that will come into play in administering the FY 2026 AIP.
Key aspects of the FY 2026 AIP to help best prepare their airport sponsors to be ready:
Early notification of entitlement carryover:
- The FAA will soon publish a notice in the Federal Register on sponsors’ intended use of entitlements in FY 2026 (assuming full appropriations). They will ask sponsors to notify the agency as soon as possible whether they will use their entitlements in FY 2026 or carry them over to next year. A deadline will be set for airports to notify their ADOs/FAA in early spring.
- The FAA will work with the ADOs to reach out to sponsors; if there are no projects on a sponsor’s ACIP, the FAA may determine that the airport will not use its entitlement funding in FY 2026, and it will carry over.
- Reporting carryover is critically important, as overall entitlement formula funding under the new bill has increased, thereby decreasing the amount available for discretionary grants. FAA will need to use the carryover declared by sponsors to help run the new formulas.
- The FAA will draft entitlement numbers for airports to review, but they will include several caveats, as the formulas assume final FY 2026 appropriations meet authorized levels.
- If sponsors have carried over their entitlement funding for four or more years, they could risk losing that money.
Completion of planning and NEPA approvals:
- FAA Office of Airports has experienced a 25% reduction in staffing due to early retirements. Most are FAA planners and Environmental Protection Specialists. Consultants should be mindful of the implications these reductions will have on the FAA planning and environmental review and approval processes.
- Sponsors should ensure that planned projects are “on the books now,” and that planning and NEPA approvals are completed in time. Unlike the past, the FAA will not have the staff or resources to handle any last-minute hiccups and “will not be able to move mountains” anymore. The FAA’s flexibility will be limited, and any pop-up activities or requests will be difficult to accommodate.
- Keep an eye out for FY 2027 and what planning/environmental reviews may be needed this year to be ready to go to design and construction next year. Typically, under Order 5050, environmental approvals should be completed by April 30, 2026, of the prior year....
