Agency Seeks Public Advice as the Medical Process Grows Overwhelmed

As airmen medical applications reach an all-time high, the FAA is turning to the public to review questions, comments, and concerns about the certification process. Many of these suggestions were offered during a recent listening session with aviation stakeholders.

The FAA typically receives around 385,000 medical applications every year. In 2024, however, the system took about 450,000 applications. The number of Special Issuance medical certificate applications has also doubled since 2019, requiring even more attention to research and process than standard medicals.

The airmen medical system is not just overcrowded; it’s outdated. It is far from accurate to modern healthcare practices and the needs of pilots on standards like mental health conditions, treatment options, and denials. Even if you’re lucky enough to have a quick and easy medical issuance process, there’s the problem of finding and accessing a certified Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) to do it.

To its credit, the FAA has been extremely open to modernizing the airmen medical process recently. In late April, it withdrew proposed changes to the medical application system that would’ve issued an immediate denial to anyone who failed to submit full exam results or other required information. This would have generated several unintended consequences, including putting a permanent red mark on pilots’ applications.

A major part of the agency’s decision to cut this potential policy change was advocacy from several industry groups, like the NBAA and EAA. Now, the FAA is sorting through more advice from aviation stakeholders in an attempt to continue improving the medical application process.

“I like to talk about safety being a team sport and certainly this is part of that process to make things better,” noted Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau. “Clearly there are things that are not working for everyone.”

FMI: www.faa.gov