Pilot-Backed Mental Health Reforms Clear Senate

Bill Would Implement FAA Rulemaking Committee Recommendations

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate today passed the Mental Health in Aviation Act (S. 3257), bipartisan legislation to fix a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical certification process that can keep pilots who seek mental health treatment grounded for more than a year. A similar bill passed the House in September 2025. The legislation would implement recommendations from the FAA's Mental Health and Aviation Medical Clearances Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), which the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l (ALPA) co-chaired.

“Airline pilots helped write these recommendations, and today the Senate voted to put them into action,” said Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA president. “We thank Senators John Hoeven and Tammy Duckworth for their bipartisan leadership in getting this bill through the Senate. This legislation acknowledges that a pilot's psychological well-being is just as important as their physical health.”

According to the ARC's final report, about 20 percent of pilots and controllers who report a mental health diagnosis are initially disqualified, leaving them unable to work until the FAA resolves their case. While very few, around 0.1 percent, are ultimately denied, approval can take months or years. A pilot who begins taking an antidepressant can wait more than a year for an initial FAA authorization. The FAA's psychiatric review stage alone takes 150 to 180 days. These delays discourage pilots from seeking help and pose unacceptable safety risks.

“For far too long, pilots have faced a difficult choice between seeking necessary mental health care and maintaining their careers,” said Ambrosi. “When pilots know that reporting treatment won't sideline them for months on end, they'll come forward, and the FAA gets the information it needs to make sound medical decisions. This bill would create a system that makes flying safer for passengers and crews alike.”

The Mental Health in Aviation Act would:

• Continue collaboration on worker education campaigns that reduce the stigma around mental health care, explain the process from recognizing a condition through recovery, and encourage workers to seek help early.
• Break down barriers that discourage aviation workers from seeking help and, for those who do seek treatment, improve the process to help them safely and expeditiously return to work when able.
• Expand existing peer-support programs that train pilots to confidentially discuss concerns and connect colleagues with resources.

“The safety of the flying public and our crews is the foundation of everything we do,” said Ambrosi. “ALPA stands ready to work with Congress, the FAA, and our partners across the industry to see this bill signed into law and implemented quickly and effectively. Seeking mental health care should be viewed not as a career risk but as a professional responsibility.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the largest airline pilot union in the world and represents more than 80,000 pilots at 42 U.S. and Canadian airlines. Visit ALPA.org or follow us @ALPAPilots on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Contact: ALPA Media, 703-481-4440 or Media@alpa.org.