Congressional Mandate and Study Requirements: Congress has mandated a study and briefing to evaluate the feasibility and associated costs of installing communication equipment and allowing electronic flight plan submissions. The intent is to improve coordination between pilots and air traffic control for flights into and out of the Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) and Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ) in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

The study is required under Section 760 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which mandates the FAA to: Assess the feasibility of installing equipment enabling pilots to communicate with ATC via very high frequency (VHF) radios to receive IFR clearances and activate DC FRZ and SFRA flight plans.

Focus on non-towered airports in the FRZ and airports in the SFRA that currently lack VHF communication equipment.