A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

The FAA has extended the <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2026-8185-0001">deadline for comments</a> from the aviation industry—as well as federal, state, tribal, and local agencies—regarding the importance of Midway Atoll Airport/Henderson Field (PMDY) for transpacific aviation operations until September 22.
Midway Island is best known for being the site of what historians describe as the turning point in the Pacific Theater in World War II, when the U.S. Navy won a major tactical aircraft carrier duel against the Japanese Imperial fleet in 1942. The island remained under U.S. Navy control until the mid-1990s, when it was designated as a National Wildlife Refuge and turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The remote island's infrastructure includes an ETOPS (extended-range twin-engine operations performance standards) runway—an emergency landing strip for aircraft transiting the Pacific. PMDY is unique as a Part 139 airport that is owned and operated by a department of the U.S. government, is not a joint-use airport, and serves a specific need in the global aviation system.
According to the FAA, PMDY’s infrastructure is deteriorating and will require significant financial investments and rehabilitation within the next three to five years to maintain its operational capability and compliance with airport certification requirements and ETOPS requirements. As a result, the FAA is attempting to understand the potential impacts if PMDY were no longer available as an ETOPS alternate airport.

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

FAA Ponders Fate of Remote Pacific Island Airfield

Midway Island plays a role in ETOPS flight planning

The FAA is seeking aviation industry input as it ponders the fate of a remote Pacific Island airstrip used in ETOPS flight planning.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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.

Tennessee governor suggests change to airport board

Nashville Mulls Airport Name Change To Honor Dolly Parton

Hanneke Weitering

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

Site will support both piloted and pilotless VTOL flight testing

Wisk Begins Building eVTOL Vertiport at Hollister Airport

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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.

More In Airports

Nashville Mulls Airport Name Change To Honor Dolly Parton

Tennessee governor suggests change to airport board

Wisk Begins Building eVTOL Vertiport at Hollister Airport

Site will support both piloted and pilotless VTOL flight testing

Electra Demos Hybrid-electric Flights in Three States

FAA program tests links between small fields and major hubs

Flexjet Bases European Helicopter Fleet at Blackbushe

S-76s and AW139s will carry passengers to and from London-area airports

FAA’s Bedford, Lawmakers Oppose Burke Lakefront Closure

Neither FAA nor Congress appear open to helping Cleveland expedite airport closure

Haneda Plans Three-strikes Rule To Bench Errant Pilots

Restriction targets individual pilots, not the operator or aircraft

Local Groups Band Together To Support Lakefront Airport

Groups point to $195 million in economic contribution

New Jersey Airport To Close for Runway Repair

Project is expected to take a month, starting in mid-September

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN