Early last month, the FAA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to dramatically curtail the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program. In short, BARR allows general aviation aircraft owners to opt out of having their flight information publicly available at flight tracking providers such as FlightAware.
As proposed, the FAA’s changes to this long-established program–it was authorized by Congress in 2000–would effectively limit the program’s privacy protection to only those aircraft owners with a known and specific security threat. Broad security concerns–including corporate espionage, threats that do not yet meet the standards required to issue restraining orders or well known people who just don’t want to be hounded by the public while traveling privately–would not be covered under this proposal.
Chad is the editor of AINalerts, AIN's daily business aviation newsletter, and is also the news editor at AIN Media Group. He has been writing about aviation, with an emphasis on business aviation, since 1994. Chad started his writing career at The Avion, the student newspaper at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, serving as editor-in-chief before graduating with a bachelor's in aeronautical science. After a stint as managing editor at Professional Pilot magazine, he joined AIN in late 1998. Chad holds a commercial pilot certificated with instrument and multi-engine ratings, and he also is a CFI/CFII. He lives and works from his home in Venice, Florida.
