As advanced air mobility (AAM) systems edge closer to deployment, “Air traffic will move from gate-to-gate down to door-to-door,” said Nick Lappos, Senior Fellow Emeritus at Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company, and co-chair of the AIAA Certification Task Force. His remarks came during an AIAA lunchtime briefing on 21 May at the U.S. House of Representatives. The event focused on the Task Force’s opinion paper, “Airspace Priorities for Novel Aircraft Certification.”
The briefing marked the second in a series of AAM-focused Capitol Hill events hosted by AIAA this year, drawing congressional staff and industry stakeholders. The panel discussion centered on how AAM and automated aerospace technologies could be integrated safely and successfully into existing aviation infrastructure.
The expert panel reflected the culmination of work by two AIAA task forces—the AAM Task Force, chaired by Virginia Stouffer, president, Transformational Technologies LLC, and the Certification Task Force, co-chaired by Lappos. The task forces have been developing policy and technical guidance to prepare the national airspace (NAS) for AAM operations. A recently released AIAA report laid a foundation for how performance-based standards might be developed to enable scalable, safety-first integration as AAM technology nears real-world readiness.
Moderated by AIAA CEO Clay Mowry, the panel included Lappos, Stouffer, and Chad Kirk, senior director of Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). Mowry opened by noting the challenges already facing the U.S. air traffic management system. The future “is getting much more contested and congested,” he said. “We’re going to need some really interesting technology solutions to make sure we can all work with and utilize this airspace.”
Future systems are expected to rely more heavily on direct aircraft-to-aircraft communication, reducing dependence on traditional radar and enabling more consistent, automated coordination. The panelists discussed how designing a system capable of self-regulation under normal circumstances is critical, with human oversight available throughout the system. Decreasing the number of spontaneous decisions a pilot must make—decisions that introduce variability and risk—can enhance overall operational safety.
When asked about how air traffic control systems today are preparing to integrate autonomous aircraft, Stouffer emphasized the difficulty of introducing AAM to fundamentally human-centric systems. She noted that legacy protocols—like “see and avoid”—must evolve into sensor-based equivalents such as “detect and avoid.” Kirk added that remote capabilities will require a shift in regulatory philosophy. “We’re going to need performance-based standards and regulations, so we don’t require special conditions.”
An eventual possibility could be a standardized suite of tools that could support gradual integration across FAA centers, each with distinct operational needs. The suite could “start out as an assistive element to the operators, and then we grow, and we build our trust in the automation system, and it gradually becomes more and more a part of our NAS,” Stouffer added.
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The need for public–private partnerships emerged as a priority in technical standards for AAM. Lappos noted that innovation is most effective when private firms develop the technology and the government ensures it meets rigorous safety thresholds. He emphasized that government agencies play a vital role in translating industry-led innovation into policy.
“I think we’re looking at a future that has more automation, more redundancy, enhanced digital flight rules, better deconfliction capabilities, and a much more integrated system between novel aircraft and the traditional air traffic control system,” concluded Mowry.
AIAA will continue the conversation around air traffic control systems, AAM, and operational considerations this year. Join the dialogue by attending 2025 AIAA AVIATION Forum, 21–25 July in Las Vegas.
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