Aircraft Regulations and Guidance Overview

GSA publishes regulatory policy for aircraft management in 41 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 102-33, “Management of Government Aircraft,” and 41 CFR 300-3; 301-10; and 301-70, “Travel on Government Aircraft.” The latest version of 41 CFR 102-33 was published in the Federal Register on November 6, 2002. The latest policy for “Travel on Government Aircraft” was published June 21, 2004.

Office of Management and Budget Circular A-126, “Improving the Management and Use of Government Aircraft,” revised May 1992, provides the basic guidance for management of federal aviation programs and for travel on government aircraft. 41 CFR 102-33 and 41 CFR 300-3; 301-10; and 301-70 codify the guidance in OMB Circular A-126.

GSA also publishes a number of other guides and manuals to help federal agencies manage the acquisition, use, and disposal of their aircraft. These publications include, the “U.S. Government Aircraft Cost Accounting Guide,” revised November 2002, which contains essential guidance for accounting for government aircraft costs, for justifying the use of government aircraft, and for recovering costs.

The “Safety Standards Guidelines for Federal Flight Programs” are high-level guidelines for the federal agencies to use to create their own agency-specific standards. Fifteen federal agencies voluntarily adopted these guidelines by signing the Interagency Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP) “Safety Standards Agreement” in 2000 and 2001.

Federal agencies may fly their aircraft as “public aircraft” under certain conditions, described in Public Law 106-181 and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA's) Advisory Circular on Public Aircraft.

Illegal Charter Reporting Hotline: 888-SKY-FLT1 (888-759-3581). Funded by a grant from the FAA, National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is supporting a special toll-free hotline where any employee or agent of a Part 135 on-demand certificate holder can call to file a report of suspected illegal commercial flights, where an aircraft operator without an FAA Part 135 certificate is accepting compensation for transportation, in violation of both FAA and Department of Transportation regulations.