US Bill, WINGS Act, to Expand Federal Financing for Flight Training

USA – Bipartisan legislation introduced in the US House of Representatives would expand the treatment of aviation training costs under federal student-aid rules and make students in FAA Part 141 flight training programmes eligible for the higher borrowing limits applied to “professional students”. The Workforce Innovation for Next-Gen in Skies Act of 2026, or WINGS Act (H.R. 9896), is being proposed in Congress; if enacted, it could materially expand financing available through eligible collegiate and Part 141 pilot-training pathways and reduce reliance on private flight-training loans.

• H.R. 9896 was introduced on 23 July 2026 by Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio with eight initial cosponsors and was referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
• The legislation would amend the Higher Education Act so that the federally recognised cost of attendance for qualifying aviation associate and bachelor’s degree programmes can include aviation laboratory fees, aircraft and simulator instructional hours, ground instruction, training materials and equipment, examination and licensing fees and other directly incurred aviation-training expenses.
• Eligible degree programmes would include those assigned Classification of Instructional Programs codes beginning with 49.01, covering air transportation programmes, as well as specified aircraft airframe, powerplant and avionics maintenance programmes under codes 47.0607, 47.0608 and 47.0609. The bill also allows the Secretary of Education to identify additional programmes preparing students for aviation employment.
• Separately, the WINGS Act would amend the statutory definition of a professional student for federal loan-limit purposes to include a student enrolled in a programme providing training under 14 CFR Part 141.
• Under US Department of Education rules effective from 1 July 2026, a professional student can borrow up to $50,000 per academic year through the Direct Unsubsidized Loan Program, subject to a $200,000 aggregate professional-student limit and other federal aid requirements. Extending that classification to qualifying Part 141 students would therefore provide a substantially larger federal financing channel for eligible pilot-training programmes if the bill becomes law.
• The FAA describes Part 141 pilot schools as certificated organisations required to use structured training programmes and FAA-approved curricula, with prescribed requirements covering facilities, instructors and training oversight. Colleges and universities frequently use Part 141 approval to provide the flight-training component of aviation degree programmes.
• The bill’s cost-of-attendance provisions specify an effective date of 1 July 2027, applying from the 2027–2028 award year. Representative Beatty’s office similarly stated that the proposed changes are intended to begin with the 2027–2028 academic year.
• NBAA has endorsed the proposal, while Representative Beatty’s office said support also includes Airlines for America, the Regional Airline Association, NATA, Southwest Airlines, NetJets and more than a dozen universities and higher-education organisations.
• AFM previously reported that the Regional Airline Association called in August 2025 for accredited undergraduate Part 141 flight programmes to receive professional-degree treatment for federal financial-aid purposes. AFM also reported that the National Flight Training Alliance sought substantially similar language during the 2025 federal reconciliation process, including a proposed definition covering students receiving Part 141 training. 

Source: Office of Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio