Welcome to the September 2026 Edition of the APA Approach!
The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has released the draft 2026 Arizona State Aviation System Plan (SASP) for public comment. The SASP is a 20-year roadmap, covering the states airport system through 2044, and is the primary document through which ADOT evaluates airport performance, prioritizes capital investments, and aligns Arizona’s aviation assets with broader state transportation goals. Although the SASP covers a broad range of aviation sectors and technology trends, it is important for general aviation as the plan establishes how GA aircraft operations are counted, classifies airports, and allocates capital funding. This determines whether Arizona’s network of reliever and GA-primary airports, such as Deer Valley, Falcon Field, and Glendale, receive the infrastructure investment needed to keep them safe and operationally viable.
ADOT released the SASP on August 18th with a September 1st deadline for submission of comments. Quite honestly, this is wholly inadequate for a document that totals 510 pages including appendices - Draft 2026 ADOT SASP. However, APA and our partners at the Aviation Safety Group of Arizona (ASAG) invested the time to review it and offered two key comments to ADOT:
Lack of Arizona GA Stakeholder Involvement
The SASP development process involved a Project Advisory Committee (PAC) that included AOPA but did not include any state-specific organizations such as APA, ASAG, or the Arizona Flight Training Work Group (AFTW). This limits the ability of Arizona-based GA stakeholders to provide operational insight, training-environment context, and airport-specific feedback that national organizations like AOPA cannot fully represent.
ADS-B Tracking, Data Privacy and Airport Use of Broadcast Data
One of the key airport system performance measures established in the plan is the “Percentage of Airports with ADS-B or Similar Real-Time Aircraft Tracking Systems” which currently stands at 39%. The draft SASP correctly notes increasing aviation community concern regarding the use of ADS-B tracking systems for purposes unrelated to air traffic efficiency or safety. ADS-B broadcasts permanently expose aircraft identification (ICAO address), ownership information, and real-time position data to commercial aggregators. At present, no federal or Arizona-specific data privacy framework limits the collection, retention, or resale of this information.
While ADS-B can support operational tracking at airports, the widespread aggregation of broadcast data has significant implications, including data privacy, commercial exploitation, enabling airport fee systems and safety impacts. Obviously, we fully support pending federal legislation such as the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act (S.2175) currently making its way through Congress which would restrict ADS-B data use to safety related purposes only. We further recommended that ADOT establish state-level limits on the aggregation, retention, and resale of ADS-B broadcast data, and that the SASP explicitly discourage airport use of ADS-B systems for fee collection or enforcement activities inconsistent with FAA policy.
ADOT has acknowledged receipt of our input, and we’ll keep you posted on any new developments.
Thank you for supporting APA’s mission through your membership and as always, please feel free to reach out to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have any comments, concerns or questions.
Fly Safe,
Chris