[Avionics Today 11-25-2014] The U.K.-based Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is looking to minimize the impact of weather disruption on passengers with a new good practice guidance published on the agency’s website. With the winter season approaching, and bad weather along with it, the guidance sets out key principles and recommended practices to help airports work effectively in partnership with airlines, ground handlers and the many other organizations working within airports in order to better prepare for large disruption and manage it effectively when it does occur.
The CAA worked with the Airport Operators Association (AOA) to produce the guidance, which is aimed at U.K. airports with more than 1 million passengers per year, and reflects many of the existing practices at such airports. For the majority of airports, the guidance is voluntary, as the CAA has no powers to regulate resilience measures at airports except Gatwick and Heathrow, which have recently published resilience plans as part of their license conditions.
“Around 230 million people use U.K. airports each year and the vast majority of them enjoy trouble-free journeys. But whether it’s down to bad weather, technical problems or air traffic control issues — things can go wrong that lead to disruption. Most passengers understand this, but do rightly expect airports to be well prepared for potential problems and handle them effectively,” said Iain Osborne, group director for regulatory policy at the CAA.