Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stressed the urgency of getting additional funding to support the FAA’s ambitions to overhaul the nation’s air traffic control system. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate have proposed $12.5 billion in such funding, a figure that some in the industry are hoping will end up closer to $20 billion.
“I want the full amount,” Duffy noted while speaking during a Tuesday afternoon fireside chat with Aerospace Industries Association president and CEO Eric Fanning at the Paris Air Show. “But I don’t need the full amount. I think this is the best way to do it.” He added that he hopes to have enough funding to take care of telecommunications and radar improvements and start the process of upgrading the other systems.
As for the current vehicle for that funding, the so-called “big, beautiful bill”—more formally known as the budget reconciliation package—he noted, “This is the one vehicle we have to get the most amount of money.”
Whether that gets through Congress is still uncertain. But on the funding, Duffy said, “Senators know I keep pushing. It’s a rarity that this is bipartisan.”
In the wide-ranging interview with Fanning, Duffy was asked about certification pace in light of the wave of advanced air mobility vehicles coming down the pike. He responded that mindset matters. Duffy said he understands why the FAA was set up the way it was—“it’s a different kind of body”—but noted that it also has its problems.
However, Duffy added that he has looked at those issues in tandem with FAA leadership. “We’re excited about the technology…We want the jobs. We want to deploy the innovation.”
He said it’s not good for the country if barriers push testing and development of such programs to other places.
He likened the certification approach to Goldilocks—not too hot, not too cold. “We have to do things just right,” not too slow or fast, he said. Decision-making involves risk, and some people avoid that, thereby slowing progress, he argued. “That’s not our philosophy. If you take jobs to lead, you should lead.”
Duffy was further asked about whether the White House plans to name another U.S. ambassador to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a position that has been filled only on an acting basis since Sully Sullenberger left the role in July 2022. Duffy said he has heard from the White House about potential candidates. “The President is actually thinking about it. Obviously, you need an ambassador.”
Another area brought up in the chat involved the controller workforce. “It’s amazing how slow [hiring] is and how hard. This is one of the most complicated things we've dealt with—how do we get more controllers?”
He pointed to the various steps that can slow the process, such as getting the physical and awaiting medical reports. The target this year was to cycle 2,000 controller candidates through its Oklahoma City academy. But one of the primary problems is a 35% washout rate.
One solution is to provide extra support to candidates who are “kind of on the line,” he said. In addition, the agency has concluded that not all classes at the academy need to be taught by controllers, so it is bringing in other professors to help expand capacity where it can.
Duffy believes the FAA will hit the target now, and the agency is targeting as many as 2,500 next year. “I don't want to overpromise or underdeliver. But we are expanding.”
He also pointed to efforts on retention, such as offering bonuses and improving efforts to draw in military controllers. “Australia and New Zealand are stealing our controllers, offering them more money, so maybe we look at deploying the same philosophy,” Duffy said. “I can’t announce anything right now, but something like that could be in the works.”

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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