The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented legislation making it harder to track private airplanes belonging to stars such as Taylor Swift, according to USAToday.
Last May, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden. This legislation includes provisions that allow private aircraft owners, such as Taylor Swift, to request greater privacy regarding their flight information. Specifically, Section 803 of the act addresses data privacy and enables owners to submit electronic requests to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to withhold certain details from public view. This includes registration numbers for non-commercial flights and personal information like names, addresses, phone numbers, and emails.
The law also allows aircraft owners who can demonstrate a security need to apply for a new International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) code. This 24-bit code, part of the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system, is used to identify aircraft in real-time air traffic systems. By obtaining a new code, owners can further obscure their jet’s identity from public tracking.
This change comes after years of public scrutiny over celebrity jet usage, with Taylor Swift being a prominent figure in the debate. Social media accounts, like those run by Jack Sweeney, have historically used FAA registry data to track her flights, often highlighting fuel usage and carbon emissions.
Example: Taylor Swift's Two Private Jets in 2023
Swift faced significant attention in 2022 when a study labeled her the top celebrity CO2 emitter due to her private jet travel, though her team countered that her jet is frequently loaned out, making such attributions inaccurate. Her legal team also sent cease-and-desist letters to Sweeney, arguing that tracking endangered her privacy and safety—a concern amplified by past stalking incidents.
The FAA has since implemented these privacy options, now in effective, allowing owners to shield their data more effectively. The agency is also considering making the withholding of personally identifiable information the default for the public aircraft registry, while still ensuring owners can access their own data.
However, this has sparked debate. While it enhances privacy and security for high-profile individuals, critics argue it reduces transparency, particularly around the environmental impact of private jets, which emit significantly more CO2 per passenger than commercial flights. Despite the new rules, some tracking may still be possible through alternative methods.
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