Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

U.S. House lawmakers continue to spotlight the progress of implementing the comprehensive FAA reauthorization bill enacted last year, emphasizing that it has become an even more urgent priority given the air traffic control failures and the series of high-profile accidents.
Noting that the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 was designed to strengthen every facet of the aviation ecosystem, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee), ranking member of the House aviation subcommittee, said during a hearing on Wednesday, “Laws and words alone do not save lives. They require timely and accountable implementation. And today, sadly, the stakes are higher than ever.”
The collision over the Potomac, in addition to the close calls, has “exposed additional serious vulnerabilities in our system,” he said. “These are stark reminders that our work to modernize and secure our aviation infrastructure cannot wait.”
Cohen called air traffic control system modernization “one of our most urgent needs today.”
Testifying before the aviation subcommittee’s hearing on stakeholder perspectives of reauthorization implementation, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen agreed, calling modernization “a national imperative.”
Bolen said the committee’s commitment of $12.5 billion toward infrastructure improvements and controller hiring will help enable modernization of critical infrastructure and stepped-up controller hiring. However, he said, “The system needs $18.5 billion in additional funding over the next three years, to make these urgent capital improvements and realize the benefits of modern technology, or we will repeat the failures of the past.”
Minor investments over the past decades, he explained, “led to a system that required the ‘dumbing down’ of new technology to integrate into old legacy systems, never allowing the NAS to enjoy the full benefit of cutting-edge tools and equipment.”
He added that the Modern Skies Coalition, representing numerous stakeholders, is unified in support of the funding.
AOPA president and CEO Darren Pleasance agreed and added, “Having the entire aviation industry behind this effort is both important and unique. The time to upgrade this system is now.”
Modernizing the ATC system will require constant leadership and vigilance, Pleasance added. “We cannot fail in getting this done. Procurement and acquisition processes also need to be streamlined, and this effort will also require transparency and strong oversight.”
Jody Reven, president of Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, also agreed. “Unfortunately, a large percentage of FAA’s current equipment and communications systems are outdated and not up to the task of handling the current airspace system, let alone future demands,” Reven said, pointing to the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) risk assessment finding that of FAA’s 138 systems, 51 (37%) were unsustainable and 54 (39%) were potentially unsustainable.
“FAA must move faster to address these concerns,” he said, and asked for additional risk factors considered at mixed-use airports. “Airports that serve primarily air transport aircraft only do a good job with traffic flows, deconfliction, and procedures. High-density airports that serve air transport, light civil aircraft, business jets, and helicopters are at the highest risk of another midair collision,” he said, and urged that the FAA conduct an immediate assessment of facilities in Burbank, Long Beach, and Orange County-John Wayne in California.
Meanwhile, the hearing delved into an array of other issues, such as ADS-B privacy and security, FBO fees, medical standards, and an overhaul of the notam system.
House aviation subcommittee Chairman Troy Nehls (R-Texas) noted that creating the FAA reauthorization legislation “was a monumental task” involving more than 2,100 stakeholders and member requests and included more than 500 mandates for the FAA. “This legislation touched every major sector of the aviation industry and included provisions to ensure that the United States remains the global leader in aviation.”
Nehls acknowledged the challenges of implementing a law of that scale—some measures in FAA bills in 2018 and 2016 have yet to be implemented. But he also expressed the belief that the 2024 bill “set an achievable timeline for implementation and reform.”
He said that while progress has been made, several important measures are still outstanding, such as the establishment of an enhanced qualification program for restricted airline transport pilot certificates, the beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations rule for uncrewed aircraft systems, and a report updating policies on supersonic aircraft.
“It is essential that this subcommittee, along with the broader aviation community, hold the DOT and FAA accountable to achieve the goals set forth in our legislation,” Nehls said.

News, issues, personnel, equipment and developments about air traffic management.

ATC Modernization Becomes Urgent Focus of FAA Reauthorization

Bolen said system needs addition $18.5 billion over three years

ATC modernization took center stage as the House aviation subcommittee probed FAA reauthorization implementation.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Aircraft operators will be charged a new fee to support the work

Redesign of UK Airspace Will Start with London Airports

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News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

Predictive engine designed to support tower situational awareness

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News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

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