GSA publishes regulatory policy in 41 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 102-33, “Management of Government Aircraft.”  The latest version of this regulation was published in the Federal Register on November 6, 2002.

Office of Management and Budget Circular A-126, “Improving the Management and Use of Government Aircraft,” revised May 1992, provides the basic guidance for management of federal aviation programs and for travel on government aircraft. 41 CFR 102-33 and 41 CFR 101-37.4, governing travel on government aircraft, codify the guidance in OMB Circular A-126.

GSA also publishes a number of other guides and manuals to help federal agencies manage the acquisition, use, and disposal of their aircraft (see "Other Federal Aviation Guidance" link on the left). These publications include, the “U.S. Government Aircraft Cost Accounting Guide,” revised November 2002, which contains essential guidance for accounting for Government aircraft costs, for justifying the use of Government aircraft, and for recovering costs.

The “Safety Standards Guidelines for Federal Flight Programs” are high-level guidelines for the Federal agencies to use to create their own agency-specific standards. Fifteen federal agencies voluntarily adopted these guidelines by signing the Interagency Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP) “Safety Standards Agreement” in 2000 and 2001.

Federal agencies may fly their aircraft as “public aircraft” under certain conditions, described in Public Law 106-181 and the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Advisory Circular on Public Aircraft.