Acting Director for ICAO and International Training for the Office of International Affairs

Jim Spillane is Acting Director, ICAO and International Training, Office of International Affairs, and has overall responsibility for the FAA’s engagement with the International Civil Aviation Organization, as well as the primary focus for the Agency’s international outreach and training efforts.  

Mr. Spillane’s aviation career has spanned more than 32 years, including 8 years abroad as the FAA’s Senior Representative where he managed two portfolios. In his position in Singapore, he was responsible for promoting the agency’s bilateral efforts with 11 states in Southeast Asia and multilateral efforts with international organizations such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to improve aviation safety, system efficiency, and harmonization. As the FAA Sr. Representative to the Pacific Rim in Tokyo, he was responsible for managing the FAA’s bilateral relationships with 18 countries in a geographic area that included Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands.

Previously, Mr. Spillane held technical and managerial positions in various operational air traffic management and safety oversight roles with civil and military air navigation service providers and regulators in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.  

Mr. Spillane is also a Mansfield Fellow, completing a two-year program where he studied Japanese language and culture, and spent one year working inside the Japanese Ministry of Transport and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, where he focused on air transportation modernization issues.

He holds a Bachelor of Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Master of Science in International Relations from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.