Senate approves AAM, airline exec Michael Whitaker as FAA chief

The US Senate has confirmed aviation veteran Michael G. Whitaker to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at the time when the nation’s system for managing traditional aircraft shows signs of serious strain, and the agency struggles to integrate nearing advanced air mobility (AAM) services like air taxis into the national airspace.

Whitaker was approved Tuesday by a 98-0 Senate vote ­– an almost unheard of display of bipartisanship in desperately divided Washington. That support clears the path for Whitaker to assume the top FAA post of administrator nearly 18 months after his Trump-appointed successor Steve Dickson left the position. 

Since that time the agency has weathered controversies following a series of air traffic snafus, and revelations of near miss encounters between passenger planes. It has also become the favored target of hostile politicians claiming the FAA has become the paradigm of an over-staffed federal agency that still can’t manage to fulfill its basic role. 

Meanwhile, even FAA supporters – including members of the country’s emerging AAM sector – have become concerned about its progress in preparing ground infrastructure, traffic systems, and regulations that will needed to permit nearing air taxis to launch operations. It is similarly viewed as slow in managing the explosion of drone use.

Fortunately for AAM companies, future air taxi passengers, drone startups, and the broader US air industry, Whitaker comes to the FAA with an impressive array of experience in both older and newer aviation tech activities.

His previous position was chief operating officer of Hyundai’s AAM aircraft unit Supernal. Prior to that, he spent time working for the FAA during a critical transformation period of navigational tech under the Obama Administration. He has also racked up air industry experience with United Airlines and several other travel businesses and organizations. 

In addition to stepping up the pace of preparing US skies for new air taxi and other AAM operation, Whitaker will also need to accelerate the FAA’s management of swiftly expanding drone activities. 

Among those will be a response to proposals to speed the processing of beyond visual line of sight authorizations. Often criticized as sluggish and rather arbitrary, that procedure is also considered too restrictive in the number of those observer-free flights permitted – widely considered viewed sine quo non for drone deliveries and myriad enterprise services to scale and reach their full potential. 

Given those stakes, the Commercial Drone Alliance applauded the Senate’s confirmation of Whitaker – the candidate it had supported to take over the FAA at a vital juncture in US aviation evolution.

“The Commercial Drone Alliance congratulates Michael Whitaker on his bipartisan confirmation by the US Senate as FAA Administrator,” said Lisa Ellman, the organization’s  executive director. “The dedicated professionals at the FAA and the entire aviation industry deserve the continuity and consistency that a Senate-confirmed leader provides. We look forward to working with Mr. Whitaker to address long-overdue advanced aviation regulatory matters, such as enabling beyond visual line of sight drone operations. Only then can the U.S. fully realize the significant societal benefits of commercial drones and regain its position as a global leader in advanced aviation.”