ALERT Act Passes House Overwhelmingly but Senate Outlook Doubtful — Business Jet Operators Face No Near-Term Retrofit, but Scope-Expansion Risk Cannot Be Ignored

On April 15, 2026, US House passed ALERT Act overwhelmingly, requiring aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B In and ACAS X dual systems. The current version applies only to aircraft over 30 seats already required to have TCAS; most business jets (under 30 seats) are not directly in mandatory scope. But Senate bipartisan key leaders Cruz and Cantwell both oppose the bill, advocating the competing ROTOR Act (independent ADS-B In mandate). ALPA criticized ACAS Xa as not yet commercialized and suppressed below 1,000 feet. If Senate modifies the bill or merges with ROTOR Act, applicable scope may expand to business jets operating in controlled airspace. Operators should closely track Senate proceedings; avionics retrofit suppliers can pre-evaluate ADS-B In add-on capacity readiness. Confidence ★★ (multi-source news cross-verification).