Texas Airports Council Latest News

FAA Updates Enforcement Policy for Non Compliant UAS Operations

Sean Clemmons — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:35:24 GMT

The Texas Airports Council would like to update our members and sponsors on recent changes to the FAA’s Compliance and Enforcement Program. The FAA has issued Change 13 to FAA Order 2150.3C, which is now in effect and establishes a strengthened enforcement posture toward non-compliant unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations.

The updated order introduces a special emphasis enforcement program targeting UAS activities that endanger the public, violate established airspace restrictions, or further criminal activity. This change applies to all FAA personnel responsible for investigating and processing statutory or regulatory violations involving UAS.

The revised policy replaces earlier guidance that focused primarily on certificated remote pilots and now broadens enforcement expectations across all unauthorized or unsafe UAS operations. The update also incorporates Compliance & Enforcement Bulletin 2026 1, which directs the FAA to pursue legal enforcement action when UAS operations create unacceptable risk to the National Airspace System.

TAC encourages airport sponsors, operators, and industry partners to review the updated order to remain informed of evolving federal enforcement priorities and to ensure local policies and procedures reflect the FAA’s current approach to UAS oversight.

Current Status of FAA BVLOS Rulemaking

Sean Clemmons — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:34:44 GMT

The FAA’s proposed rule to normalize Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations remains in the rulemaking phase, with the most recent major action being the publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on August 7, 2025. The proposal was jointly issued by the FAA and TSA and published in the Federal Register as part of a broad regulatory package covering multiple CFR parts.

Following publication, the FAA opened a public comment period that closed in late 2025. The proposal generated more than 3,000 comments, reflecting significant industry engagement and concern over several key issues, including right of way rules, detect and avoid requirements, and the integration of electronic conspicuity technologies.

The FAA subsequently reopened a portion of the comment period to gather additional input specifically on electronic conspicuity (EC) and right of way provisions, signaling that these areas require further refinement before the rule can advance. The reopened comment period closed on February 11.

At this time, the rule remains in the NPRM stage, and the FAA has not yet issued a final rule or timeline for adoption. The agency continues to evaluate public comments and technical considerations as it works toward a regulatory framework that supports safe, scalable BVLOS operations.

TAC encourages airport sponsors, operators, and industry partners to review FAA requests and submit comments as appropriate. The outcome of this rulemaking will have implications for airspace integration, airport operations, and future UAS activity across Texas.

NFPA 409 (2026 Edition) Introduces Key Updates to Aircraft Hangar Standards

Sean Clemmons — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:33:30 GMT

The Texas Airports Council would like to inform our members and sponsors that the 2026 edition of NFPA 409: Standard on Aircraft Hangars has been released, introducing several important updates that will influence hangar design, construction, and fire protection requirements across the aviation industry.

The revised standard provides greater clarity, flexibility, and cost efficiency for general aviation hangar owners and operators while maintaining a strong emphasis on safety. These updates reflect years of industry input and align the standard with current operational practices and aircraft design considerations.

Key Changes in the 2026 Edition

Increased Door Height for Group II Hangars: The minimum aircraft access door height has been raised to 35 feet, addressing modern aircraft dimensions and reducing unnecessary design constraints.
Elimination of Column Sprinklers: Column sprinkler requirements have been removed in cases where a foam fire suppression system is not required, reducing installation complexity and cost.
Reinstated Hangar Cluster Criteria: “Hangar cluster” separation provisions for Group III hangars have been restored, offering additional flexibility in site planning and layout.
Clarified Definition of Hazardous Operations: The standard now defines hazardous operations as activities that “when performed, lead to an increased likelihood of causing a fuel spill fire,” with expanded explanatory guidance provided in the Annex.

These updates may influence local code adoption, hangar development planning, and compliance considerations for airport sponsors and operators. TAC encourages all members, airport managers, consultants, and stakeholders to review the 2026 edition to ensure alignment with evolving fire protection and design requirements.

FAA Releases Updated Airport Compliance Manual – Order 5190.6C

Sean Clemmons — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 21:30:33 GMT

The Texas Airports Council would like to inform our members, partners, and sponsors that the Federal Aviation Administration has issued Order 5190.6C, the newly updated Airport Compliance Manual. This revision replaces the previous version, Order 5190.6B, along with all associated changes and supplements.

Order 5190.6C provides updated policies and procedures governing the FAA’s Airport Compliance Program. The manual serves as a key resource for ensuring consistent interpretation of federal requirements and guiding FAA personnel as they assist airport sponsors that receive federal funding or federally conveyed property.

This comprehensive update incorporates public comments dating back to the 2009 revision and reflects statutory changes included in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. The revised guidance addresses several areas that directly influence operational and business decisions at federally obligated airports, including:

Reasonable minimum standards
Exclusive rights considerations
Self service fueling provisions
Compliance topics related to illegal charter activity
Other obligations tied to federal grant assurances

TAC encourages all airport sponsors, consultants, and industry stakeholders to review the updated manual to ensure continued alignment with federal compliance expectations and to remain informed of policy changes that may affect airport operations and development. FAA Order 5190.6C can be found here: FAA Airport Compliance Manual - Order 5190.6C – Airports | Federal Aviation Administration

TAC Membership Benefits

Sean Clemmons — Fri, 30 Jun 2023 00:28:38 GMT

The TAC Board of Directors are excited to share several new and existing benefits provided to our TAC members. If you are currently a member, you can take advantage of these benefits immediately. If you are not a member, I would encourage you to become a member of TAC and begin to not only receive these benefits, but also having access to numerous airport professionals to assist you in your day-to-day work. We are committed to continuing to enhance our membership benefits and taking TAC to the next level!

Legislative Advocacy – With the change in our 501(c) status, TAC has begun its long-awaited legislative advocacy efforts. We have created a Legislative Advocacy page that provides the ability to find your state and federal representatives, as well as indicates TAC’s legislative priorities.

Legislative Update – Both state and federal legislation has been in full play over that past several months. The Legislative Update page has been added to provide the latest information on the various bills and their status.

Mobile App – For those that like to have access to TAC on the run, we have provided a link to access the mobile app for iOS or Android phones.

Airport 101s – The Education Committee is working on setting up both live and online Airport 101s. Please stay tuned for more information.

TAC Talk - Monthly airport manager zoom meetings to discuss and find solutions to our everyday issues. This meeting is restricted to Airport Executive members only in order to allow an open and free discussion amongst colleagues.

Job’s Board – Our website now includes a free to use Job’s Board to post employment opportunities. Anyone can post employment opportunities and individuals can post their resumes as well.

ANTN Access - TAC is pleased to provide our members with access to the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Airport News and Training Network (ANTN) for on-demand video training at no additional costs, its part of your TAC membership!

Events – If you are having an event at your airport or a conference that is not listed on the Events page, send detailed information, including copy of flyers or graphics, to admin@texasairportscouncil.org so that it can be added.

As always, if there is anything TAC can assist you with all you have to do is ask, so please feel free to email us at admin@texasairportscouncil.org. We are all here to support one another in our efforts in providing professional airport management.

Scott T. Gray, C.M., C.A.E.

President, Texas Airports Council

Legislative Update

(Past member) — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 12:52:53 GMT

TAC has been tracking several aviation related bills during this legislative session and has created a Legislative Updates page to share what we know. This page will be updated periodically as we hear of changes. We are also tracking the proposed increase to TxDOT Aviation funding and how that will affect airports across the state.

Additionally, we are tracking the FAA Reauthorization process between the House and Senate and will provide those updates on our Legislative Updates page as well.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding legislative issues, please reach out to our Gary Davis, Legislative Committee Chair.

TAC Board of Directors 4th Quarter Meeting

(Past member) — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 20:00:00 GMT

The TAC Board of Directors were working hard today at the 4th quarter meeting at the Draughon-Miller Center Texas Regional Airport. Special thanks to Sean Parker for hosting us! More to come on the exciting things to come this year!!!

TAC Address Change

(Past member) — Wed, 17 May 2023 22:00:00 GMT

As many of you may have experienced in the past, the Texas Airports Council (TAC) has changed our official address as new Treasurers were elected. To make it easier for our members to remit payments or contact TAC, we have just initiated a new "permanent" TAC address:

Texas Airports Council
3571 Far West Blvd, #3747
Austin, TX 78731

All correspondence and payments can begin using this address immediately. If you are remitting payments to TAC via check, please notify your accounting department of this new address so as not to delay activation of your membership.

Congratulations 41st Annual TxDOT Aviation Conference Award Winners

(Past member) — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 13:24:37 GMT

THE 2023 AIRPORT PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR AWARD

IS PRESENTED BY THE

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

AVIATION DIVISION

ROBERT VARGAS, AIRPORT MANAGER

ANDREWS COUNTY AIRPORT

ANDREWS, TEXAS

**************************************************************

THE 2023 MOST IMPROVED AIRPORT AWARD

IS PRESENTED BY THE

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

AVIATION DIVISION

GRANBURY REGIONAL AIRPORT

GRANBURY, TEXAS

**************************************************************

THE 2023 STATE AIRPORT OF THE YEAR AWARD

IS PRESENTED BY THE

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

AVIATION DIVISION

TRADEWIND AIRPORT

AMARILLO, TEXAS

***********************************************************

THE 2023 PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD IN THE

NATIONAL/REGIONAL AIRPORT CATEGORY

IS PRESENTED BY THE

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

AVIATION DIVISION

CLEBURNE REGIONAL AIRPORT

CLEBURNE, TEXAS

***********************************************************

THE 2023 PROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD IN THE

LOCAL/ BASIC AIRPORT CATEGORY

IS PRESENTED BY THE

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

AVIATION DIVISION

HUNTSVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS

*************************************************************

THE 2023 RAMP COORDINATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

IS PRESENTED BY

THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

AVIATION DIVISION

OMAR GARCIA

CORPUS CHRISTI DISTRICT

*************************************************************

THE 2023 AVIATION EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD

IS PRESENTED BY

THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

AVIATION DIVISION

MR. STEWARD BAILEY

Congratulations TAC Board of Directors

(Past member) — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 19:52:16 GMT

TAC conducted the General Membership Meeting on April 13 at the Texas Aviation Conference. During that meeting, the election of officers and Board positions were conducted. Please take a moment and visit

Texas Airports Council - Officers and Board Members to see your TAC leadership.

We will be making appointments to the Committee Chair positions in the near future, but to be successful we need TAC members to volunteer to be on those Texas Airports Council - Committees to help guide TAC moving forward. If you are interested in participating on a committee, please reach out to myself or the Committee Chair.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are excited about the future and look forward to working with all of our members to ensure General Aviation Airports are well represented and educated on how to be the best airports in the country.

Texas Airports Council Update

(Past member) — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 15:12:37 GMT

The Board of Directors are pleased to announce that the new Bylaws were approved by the majority of the Executive Membership on February 1, 2023, following the 14-day online voting opportunity. We appreciate everyone that took the time to participate in the development and passing of these new Bylaws.

These new Bylaws will set the foundation for TAC to be the leading advocate for General Aviation in the State of Texas. The expansion of the Board to include the Corporate and Associate representation will bring additional perspectives to the Board that will enhance our outreach and advocacy efforts. Please take a moment to review our organizational documents at Texas Airports Council - Guiding Documents.

We are excited about the direction TAC is headed and we invite you to become a member so that we can assist you in your airport's success. It is also time for the Nominating Committee to get the ballots prepared for our election of the FY23/24 Board Members. If you are interested in assisting at this level, please reach out to Lenny Lerena, Chairman, at vllerena@vctx.org.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the Texas Aviation Conference on April 12-14, 2023, at Moody Gardens Hotel.

TAC Board of Directors

TAC Bylaws Update

(Past member) — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 19:55:48 GMT

The TAC Board would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. We look forward to the continued growth and support of TAC and we are excited about what the future holds. As such, we are proposing a revision to the organizational Bylaws to more reflect our new direction. The proposed Bylaws have been updated to address our ability to advocate on legislative issues, more align with similar AAAE type state organizations, and to expand the number of Board members.

We are asking that our all our members take a look at the following documents and provide any feedback you believe is warranted before the Board asks for a formal Executive Member vote in accordance with the current Bylaws. Each member should have received an email with links to the document to be reviewed.

We will be accepting comments until January 17, 2023. After that, the Board will consider any comments and suggestions received. Final draft documents will then be sent to the Executive Members for a formal vote.

Thank you for your time and continued support of TAC!

Scott T. Gray, C.M., C.A.E
Vice President
Texas Airports Council

FY23-25 TxDOT Aviation CIP

(Past member) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 15:53:51 GMT

MESSAGE FOR TXDOT

The FY2023-2025 ACIP, approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is now posted on our website. At that same link is a supplemental document that goes into detail about many items that you need to know about. Your planner will be emailing you again about this document – we cannot stress this information enough. The information contained in this document is vitally important to everything we do. It is not a perfect document and it is neither final nor complete but it is the beginning. It is a living document that will be updated as we work through some procedural and process changes within the Aviation Division.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jim Halley at James.Halley@txdot.gov or 512-416-4525. .

TAC Officers and Board Approved

(Past member) — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 20:00:00 GMT

During the TAC General Membership Meeting at the TxDOT Aviation Conference on August 5, 2021, the Airport Executive members approved the slate of officers and board members. Due to the impacts of COVID on everyone's personal and professional lives, nearly all officers and board members will remain in place for an additional one or two year term. This was to build on the progress made before the near shut down of all meeting, conferences, and in-person interactions. The Board would like to thank Haley Cuevas for her time as Treasurer and welcome Joel Jenkinson as the new Treasurer and Trent Ballard as the new At-Large Executive Board member. Please visit the About - Officers and Board Members page for more details.

TxDOT Aviation Director Appointed

(Past member) — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 14:00:00 GMT

TxDOT announced the appointment of Daniel “Dan” Harmon as the new Aviation Division Director, effective December 2, 2019.

In his new role, Dan will oversee planning and funding for the nearly 300 reliever and general aviation airports throughout the state. He will work closely with the aviation community and TxDOT’s Aviation Advisory Committee to ensure safe and continuous improvement of Texas’ airport system. Dan will also oversee operations of Flight Services and the maintenance of state-owned aircraft; as well as the department’s UAS operations.

Dan has been with the department since August 2013, during which time he has served as Maritime Division (MRD) Director. Under Dan’s leadership, MRD completed a comprehensive feasibility study with the US Army Corps of Engineers for the replacement of the Brazos River Floodgates and Colorado River Locks, managed three legislatively funded programs totaling $100M in connectivity projects, and worked with the federal Maritime Administration to designate the Texas portion of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway as “Marine Highway 69.”

Prior to joining TxDOT, he served as the Director of Facilities for the Texas Department of Public Safety. As a U.S. Navy veteran, Dan served on active duty for over 22 years as a maritime patrol and reconnaissance pilot flying the P-3 Orion. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in business administration from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, where he graduated with honors. He also graduated from the U.S. Navy Aviation Safety School and holds certifications in financial management, test and evaluation, and program management from the Department of Defense. Dan has been a military instructor and standardization pilot, and holds an FAA Airline Transport Pilot rating.

Dan and his wife, Donna, have two adult children.

Please take the time to congratulating Dan on his new position.

TAC Board Approves Membership Enhancement

(Past member) — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 23:00:00 GMT

During the September 20th Board of Directors meeting, the Board approved the acquisition of the American Association of Airport Executives Airport News and Training Network (ANTN) as a new membership enhancement. As part of all TAC memberships, members will now have the ability to use the ANTN system to enhance their training through on-demand videos.

The Board is excited to provide this new feature to our members. The addition of ANTN will augment our continued efforts in providing regional Airport 101s. The Board is continuing to look for additional enhancement for our members.

Texas Senate Bills SB 1964 and SB 2050 Filed

(Past member) — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 23:00:00 GMT

Two Texas Senate Bills, SB 1964 and SB 2050, were filed on March 7, 2019 and relate to aviation taxes and creates an aviation development account. Details of each Bill is provided in the links below.

SB 1964 (Zaffirini) - related to the use of certain aviation and air transportation-related tax proceeds for aviation facilities development in an aviation development.
SB 2050 (Schwertner) - related to the creation of the aviation development account.

Texas Airports Council Announces New Website

(Past member) — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 14:00:00 GMT

Texas Airports Council is please to announce our new website. This new website includes many new members features, including online payments, event registrations, and membership profiles.

Please take some time to look around the website,but first you will need to get a member access password by following the following steps:

Click on the Login link at the top right of the home page
Click on Forgot password
Enter your email provided at membership and enter the security code
You will be emailed a link to setup a your password
Visit the home page and log in with your email and new password

Once logged in you will be on your Profile Page. Please take the time to update your membership information to ensure everything is up-to-date.