The Federal Aviation Administration will hold runway safety meetings at approximately 90 airports between now and the end of September.
“Sharing information is critical to improving safety,” said Tim Arel, chief operating officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization. “These meetings, along with other efforts, will help us achieve our goal of zero close calls.”
During a Runway Safety Action Team meeting, airport stakeholders come together to identify unique risks to surface safety at that airport and develop plans to mitigate or eliminate those risks. Representatives from the FAA’s air traffic organization, airlines, pilots, airport vehicle drivers and others participate.
With a recent alarming report of an American Airlines plane and a Southwest Airlines plane that came within a few hundred feet of each other and nearly collided at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport two weeks ago, the reported cause of this near disaster was human error. A recent report found these types of close calls are happening across the country. Reportedly there have been at least 46 of close calls in the last month alone nationwide.
Major airports with upcoming runway safety meetings include Ronald Reagan Washington National, La Guardia New York, Dallas-Fort Worth International, Cleveland Hopkins International, Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall, Reno/Tahoe International and Birmingham Shuttlesworth International. A full list is below.
The meetings, held annually at each airport with a control tower, are the primary forum for pinpointing and addressing airport-specific risk in the surface environment. The product of the meeting is a Runway Safety Action Plan where stakeholders document and agree to pursue specific actions to improve surface safety.
The FAA issued a Safety Call to Action in February following a string of incidents. Following the Safety Summit in March, the agency has undertaken a series of safety initiatives. The summit resulted in a commitment from the FAA and aviation community to pursue a goal of zero serious close calls. The same approach virtually eliminated the risk of fatalities aboard U.S. commercial airlines.
Full list of Runway Safety Action Team meetings between now and the end of September:
- Addison Airport (Texas)
- Albuquerque International Sunport Airport (New Mexico)
- Ardmore Municipal Airport (Oklahoma)
- Atlantic City International Airport (New Jersey)
- Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field (Georgia)
- Boire Field Airport (New Hampshire)
- Bradley International Airport (Connecticut)
- Branson Airport (Missouri)
- Brown Field Municipal Airport (California)
- Capital Region International Airport (Michigan)
- Central Nebraska Regional Airport
- Chennault International Airport (Louisiana)
- Coastal Carolina Regional Airport (North Carolina)
- Cyril E King Airport (U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Dallas Love Field Airport (Texas)
- David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (Texas)
- Decatur Airport (Illinois)
- Des Moines International Airport (Iowa)
- Dothan Regional Airport (Alabama)
- Eagle County Regional Airport (Colorado)
- East Texas Regional Airport
- Easterwood Field Airport (Texas)
- Essex County Airport (New Jersey)
- Executive Airport (Florida)
- Flagstaff Pulliam Airport (Arizona)
- Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester International Airport (New York)
- Friedman Memorial Airport (Idaho)
- General Downing – Peoria International Airport (Illinois)
- Gillespie Field Airport (California)
- Groton-New London Airport (Connecticut)
- Gulf Shores International Airport/Jack Edwards Field (Alabama)
- Harrisburg International Airport (Pennsylvania)
- Hayward Executive Airport (California)
- Houma-Terrebonne Airport (Louisiana)
- Hudson Valley Regional Airport (New York)
- Juneau International Airport (Alaska)
- Kahului Airport (Hawaii)
- La Crosse Regional Airport (Wisconsin)
- Lafayette Regional Airport/Paul Fournet Field (Louisiana)
- Lea County Regional Airport (New Mexico)
- Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire)
- Lihue Airport (Hawaii)
- Lincoln Airport (Nebraska)
- Long Island MacArthur Airport (New York)
- Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (Puerto Rico)
- Martha’s Vineyard Airport (Massachusetts)
- Midland International Air and Space Port Airport (Texas)
- Modesto City-County Airport-Harry Sham Field (California)
- Mojave Air & Space Port / Rutan Field (California)
- Molokai Airport (Hawaii)
- Monroe County Airport (Indiana)
- Monterey Regional Airport (California)
- Morristown Municipal Airport (New Jersey)
- Niagara Falls International Airport (New York)
- Norfolk International Airport (Virginia)
- North Central West Virginia Airport
- Northwest Arkansas National Airport
- Orlando Sanford International Airport (Florida)
- Palm Springs International Airport (California)
- Palo Alto Airport (California)
- Quad Cities International Airport (Illinois)
- Rafeal Hernandez Airport (Puerto Rico)
- Reading Regional Airport/Carl A Spaatz Field (Pennsylvania)
- Renton Municipal Airport (Washington)
- Republic Airport (New York)
- Richmond International Airport (Virginia)
- Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport (Texas)
- Rogers Executive Airport – Carter Field (Arkansas)
- Sacramento Executive Airport (California)
- Sacramento Mather Airport (California)
- Shreveport Regional Airport (Louisiana)
- Springfield-Branson National Airport (Missouri)
- St. Cloud Regional Airport (Minnesota)
- Terre Haute Regional Airport (Indiana)
- Trenton Mercer Airport (New Jersey)
- Tri-State Airport/Milton J. Ferguson Field (West Virginia)
- TSTC Waco Airport (Texas)
- Tweed/New Haven Airport (Connecticut)
- Tyler Pounds Regional Airport (Texas)
- Waukesha County Airport (Wisconsin)
- Westchester County Airport (New York)
- Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower National Airport (Kansas)
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (Pennsylvania)
- Worcester Regional Airport (Massachusetts)
