Court hearings will start December 2 in the lawsuit filed by NBAA and AOPA that seeks to overturn the FAA’s dismantling of the Block Aircraft Registration Request (Barr) program early last month. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear arguments from the associations and FAA.

“We are pleased that the general aviation community will soon have its day in court,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “We look forward to explaining to the Court of Appeals why the government’s move to severely limit the Barr program represents an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of aircraft owners and operators, a threat to the competitiveness of U.S. companies and a potential security risk to the persons aboard aircraft.” AOPA president and CEO Craig Fuller added, “The government’s action is unprecedented and unreasonable. Aircraft operators willingly provide information about aircraft movements to the government. But that doesn’t mean the information should be available to anyone, anywhere, at any time. That’s the case we intend to make on December 2, and we welcome the opportunity to do so.” NBAA and AOPA established the BARR Legal Defense Fund last month “to provide a means of demonstrating support for their court challenge to preserve the program.”