FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford visits AirVenture

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford discussed numerous topics during the Meet the Administrator forum at the Theater in the Woods on Thursday morning. Joining him on the stage for a fireside chat was EAA CEO & Chairman of the Board Jack J. Pelton. Bedford also took questions from the audience.

Bedford was sworn in as FAA administrator earlier this month following a long career in the airline industry. He leads a workforce of more than 40,000 employees during a pivotal time for the agency.

Bedford kicked off the forum by presenting the 2025 Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year to Adam Boyd from Arkansas, the 2025 Aviation Technician of the Year to Samuel “Beau” Hardison, also from Arkansas, and the 2025 FAA Safety Team Representative of the Year to Josselyn Slagle from Pennsylvania.

In his opening remarks, Bedford talked about three pillars at the FAA. First was the people pillar, which he described as foundational to get the agency appropriately staffed and trained. Second was technology modernization, where he said there are “significant technology challenges” and where the systems have not “seen modernization in over 40 years.” To address this challenge, Congress has funded $12.5 billion to modernize the air traffic control system. The third pillar Bedford described was a rethinking of airspace design. “The demands on the NAS [national airspace system] have continued to grow and are growing at rates frankly that we are playing catch-up on,” Bedford said.

In response to Pelton’s first question, Bedford said AirVenture is “amazing.” When he’s previously attended, Bedford said he was recruiting and talking to young people about becoming maintenance technicians, dispatchers, and commercial airline pilots.

Regarding a question about FAA personnel, Bedford said, “The FAA has a great culture, and its people are passionate about what they do.” In acknowledging the current agency challenges, he said, “We need to lean back into what we do, which is manage safety and manage risk, … and that’s something that we are experts at.” He also emphasized the need to break down silos in the organization.

Pelton also asked Bedford about integrating uncrewed aerial systems (drones) into the NAS, a topic of significant interest to pilots. Bedford said, “We all have a stake in this when we start thinking about the use of drones beyond visual line of sight,” something not permitted at this time. Noting that drones have to be integrated into the NAS, he said rulemaking will come out “in the not-too-distant future.” He also qualified the issue as “really complicated.”

Before the event concluded, Bedford answered questions from the audience on a number of topics including collision avoidance, digital versus remote towers, mental health, and ATC privatization.

In addition to his airline industry experience, Bedford is also an aviator and holds a private pilot certificate with multiengine and instrument ratings.