The air charter industry may be on the brink of changes as federal regulatory agencies and operators increasingly focus on the implementation of the new 14 CFR Part 5 safety management system (SMS) rule, illegal charter, and security. Factors driving the changes include a renewed interest in many facets of business air charter operations as well as an overall governmental lens on aviation safety and security. “At the same time, there has been increased media coverage of business aviation, focused attention on the industry in Washington, DC, and limitations on enforcement actions over those who are operating illegally,” according to Jenny Ann Urban, Managing Director of Air Charter and Maintenance at the National Air Transportation Association (NATA).  This renewed attention to air charter should come as no surprise, as more people discover private flying. According to Adam Cowburn, Managing Director of Alton Aviation Consultancy in New York, the charter market received a significant boost between 2020 and 2022, primarily driven by three major trends. “Those trends were a reduction in commercial airline service, immediate health concerns related to COVID-19, and significant wealth creation driven by surging equity markets in a zero-interest rate environment along with strength in certain key business sectors such as technology,” he said.  The result, said Cowburn, was that an entirely new set of customers entered business aviation. “The charter market was the greatest beneficiary of that given its lower barriers to customer entry, relative to fractional or whole aircraft ownership,” he noted.  Shifting to Culture of Safety Risk Management  For the air charter industry, regulatory changes are already taking place, with the SMS requirement being the most recent. Published on April 26, 2024, with an effective date of May 28, 2024, the rule requires part 135 operators to submit their SMS Declaration of Compliance to the Federal