Airport Efforts To Enhance Runway Safety

While U.S. airports are working diligently to improve runway safety through a variety of means, including investment in new technology, enhanced training and improved surface markings, adequate funding from FAA is necessary to develop these programs fully and keep other key priorities on track. That was the...

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While U.S. airports are working diligently to improve runway safety through a variety of means, including investment in new technology, enhanced training and improved surface markings, adequate funding from FAA is necessary to develop these programs fully and keep other key priorities on track.

That was the message recently delivered by John Duval, airport safety and security coordinator, Beverly (MA) Municipal Airport, and American Association of Airport Executives s (AAAE) second vice chair, before a House subcommittee.

"There is no easy fix and no magic bullet to improving runway safety and reducing runway incursions," Duval said in written testimony submitted to the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's aviation subcommittee.

"As in security, runway safety must be a multi-layered approach with numerous checks and balance. Although we don't have all the answers yet, we are making progress on improving runway safety through a variety of means, including the use of new technology, enhanced taxiway markings, airfield changes and improved training," he testified.

Several large airports, including Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, Boston Logan, Dallas/Fort Worth, and San Diego's Lindbergh Field, have implemented new or redesigned taxiways designed to create safer and more efficient airfields, Duval told lawmakers. Atlanta has built an end-around taxiway that eliminates hundreds of runway crossings per day, reduces delays and boosts departure capacity. Dallas/Fort Worth, which reports having about 1,700 runway crossings per day, is nearing completion on a perimeter taxiway project in its airfield's southeast quadrant and has plans to install similar taxiways in the other three quadrants over the next decade.

Airports also are embracing technology, Duval said. Among the solutions being implemented or tested by airports is the Engineered Materials Arresting System, (EMAS) runway status lights, low-cost ground surveillance systems, and a radar-based foreign object debris detection system.

Duval also underscored the important role that training plays in an airport's runway safety program. He cited AAAE's success in providing an unparalleled set of tools and educational opportunities designed to help airports meet their safety goals.

For instance, AAAE's computer-based Interactive Employee Training (IET) system, which offers customized courses that include airfield driver training, has recorded some one million training sessions at 55 airports, including 25 large and medium hubs.

AAAE's Web-based ANTN Digicast service offers more than 680 training and other videos to more than 180 subscribing airports. The association also teams up with FAA to host an annual runway safety summit and other meetings with safety-related themes.

Duval also noted that airports quickly embraced new enhanced centerline and holding-position marking standards established by the FAA in 2005. According to FAA figures, 71 of 75 airports have put the new markings in place, and the other four will have done so well in advance of the agency's June 30, 2008, deadline.

FAA recently proposed expanding the markings standards to cover the other 500 certificated Part 139 airports. Duval noted that, even though the proposed advisory circular is still not finalized, some 180 airports expect to have adopted the new markings by the end of the year, bringing both enhanced safety and standardization to a significant percentage of the nation's commercial airports.

"While this may seem like a relatively inexpensive way to improve runway safety, simply painting these markings can cost nearly $500,000 at a large hub airport," Duval said. "Requiring all Part 139 airports to enhance their surface markings will place additional funding requirements on smaller airports with limited Airport Improvement Program [AIP] funds and Passenger Facility Charge [PFC] revenue."

Duval stressed that the need to fund safety-critical programs and keep up with capacity demand means that airport funding must increase. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has taken the opposite approach.

"Given the increasing demand, rapidly rising construction costs and the need to fund safety projects at airports around the country, airport executives are dismayed that the administration is only requesting $2.75 billion for AIP in fiscal year 2009," Duval said.

"That is more than $1.1 billion less than the amount included in H.R. 2881 and in the FAA reauthorization bill passed by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. It is also $765 million less than the amount Congress appropriated for the current fiscal year.

"We realize that this subcommittee has already spoken out about the need to increase funding for airport infrastructure projects by recommending record-level funding for AIP and raising the PFC cap," Duval continued. "But we hope that you will work with your colleagues to reject the administration's proposal to drastically cut AIP funding as Congress considers the Fiscal Year 2009 Department of Transportation appropriations bill," he added.