Airport Alert: FAA Seeks Feedback from Part 139 Airports on COVID-19 Mitigation Measures
November 19, 2020
Today the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is distributing a voluntary survey to Part 139 commercial service airports, requesting anonymous feedback on practices and measures that have been implemented to reduce and mitigate the risks and spread of COVID-19 during air travel. The survey specifically focuses on mitigation measures recommended by the U.S. Government in its guidance, Runway to Recovery: The United States Framework for Airlines and Airports to Mitigate the Public Health Risks of Coronavirus. The document, which was released in July, provides guidance to airports and airlines for implementing measures to mitigate health risks posed by the ongoing pandemic and restore passenger confidence in air travel.
Airport directors for each Part 139 airport were sent an email that contains a link for accessing the survey. Each airport may only provide one response. FAA is seeking responses on or before December 3. FAA is also encouraging airports to share positive, success stories about a particular mitigation with the agency via email at 9-ARP-R2R-Airports@faa.gov. FAA is seeking similar feedback from airlines and plans to aggregate and share the results with the public. Results will also be used to assess whether to update existing guidance and determine if additional mitigation measures may be beneficial.
Background. In early July, the U.S. Departments of Transportation (DOT), Homeland Security (DHS), and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the Runway to Recovery guidelines to provide guidance for airports on how to mitigate the public health risks associated with COVID-19, prepare for increased travel volume, and ensure aviation safety and security is not compromised. As more fully summarized in our July 2 Airport Alert, the document contains 11 measures that the U.S. Government recommends airports and airlines implement across all operations and phases of travel to, from, and within the United States. The goal was to provide a level of consistent measures across the aviation system.
In October, FAA issued a notice indicating its intent to request feedback from Part 139 airports and airlines to assess whether U.S. airports have been able to implement the Runway to Recovery guidelines and what barriers exist to implementing the recommendations. FAA indicated that it would be collecting information on behalf of DOT, DHS, and HHS.
FAA Survey Overview. FAA's survey includes a series of multiple choice questions that allow the respondent to share which mitigation measures have been implemented and to what extent (fully implemented, partially implemented, or not implemented). The survey is voluntary and anonymous, which means it does not require the airport to disclose its name, only the size of the airport and the region in which it is located. FAA has separately asked airports to share success stories about a particular mitigation via email at 9-ARP-R2R-Airports@faa.gov.
FAA Message to Airport Directors. This morning Deputy Associate Administrator for Airports Winsome Lenfert sent the following message to airport directors regarding the survey:
Dear Part 139 Airport Director,
We need your help to increase public confidence in air travel. The FAA has been asked to gauge the extent to which U.S. airports and airlines have been able to implement recommended practices for reducing the public health risk of COVID-19 transmission. To help us respond to this request, we ask that you please take time to complete our Runway to Recovery Airport Survey. We are sending a separate survey to passenger airlines to gather their input.
The survey is anonymous and responses will be aggregated. We ask that you please respond by December 3, 2020. In the coming months, we may reach out again to see whether practices at airports have changed. Also, if you have a success story about a particular mitigation you have implemented, please contact us at 9-ARP-R2R-Airports@faa.gov. Any stories you share will not be associated with your survey responses.
So why are we doing this?
Last July, the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services jointly issued Runway to Recovery: The United States Framework for Airlines and Airports to Mitigate the Public Health Risks of Coronavirus. Runway to Recovery included a number of recommended practices for airports and airlines designed to reduce the public health risk of COVID-19 during air travel, restore public confidence, assist in the recovery of the aviation industry and the larger U.S. economy, and help destination communities remain open and willing to allow passenger entry.
Your input to this survey will help us:
The FAA will share summarized findings with the general public and federal agencies that issued Runway to Recovery and use it to update the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the progress of U.S. airports and airlines implementing measures to mitigate risks associated with COVID-19.
Your input is critical to ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of the global pandemic on the aviation industry, and we appreciate your participation!
Winsome Lenfert
Deputy Associate Administrator for Airports
If you have any questions, please email Justin Barkowski at justin.barkowski@aaae.org.
Today the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is distributing a voluntary survey to Part 139 commercial service airports, requesting anonymous feedback on practices and measures that have been implemented to reduce and mitigate the risks and spread of COVID-19 during air travel. The survey specifically focuses on mitigation measures recommended by the U.S. Government in its guidance, Runway to Recovery: The United States Framework for Airlines and Airports to Mitigate the Public Health Risks of Coronavirus. The document, which was released in July, provides guidance to airports and airlines for implementing measures to mitigate health risks posed by the ongoing pandemic and restore passenger confidence in air travel.
Airport directors for each Part 139 airport were sent an email that contains a link for accessing the survey. Each airport may only provide one response. FAA is seeking responses on or before December 3. FAA is also encouraging airports to share positive, success stories about a particular mitigation with the agency via email at 9-ARP-R2R-Airports@faa.gov. FAA is seeking similar feedback from airlines and plans to aggregate and share the results with the public. Results will also be used to assess whether to update existing guidance and determine if additional mitigation measures may be beneficial.
Background. In early July, the U.S. Departments of Transportation (DOT), Homeland Security (DHS), and Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the Runway to Recovery guidelines to provide guidance for airports on how to mitigate the public health risks associated with COVID-19, prepare for increased travel volume, and ensure aviation safety and security is not compromised. As more fully summarized in our July 2 Airport Alert, the document contains 11 measures that the U.S. Government recommends airports and airlines implement across all operations and phases of travel to, from, and within the United States. The goal was to provide a level of consistent measures across the aviation system.
In October, FAA issued a notice indicating its intent to request feedback from Part 139 airports and airlines to assess whether U.S. airports have been able to implement the Runway to Recovery guidelines and what barriers exist to implementing the recommendations. FAA indicated that it would be collecting information on behalf of DOT, DHS, and HHS.
FAA Survey Overview. FAA's survey includes a series of multiple choice questions that allow the respondent to share which mitigation measures have been implemented and to what extent (fully implemented, partially implemented, or not implemented). The survey is voluntary and anonymous, which means it does not require the airport to disclose its name, only the size of the airport and the region in which it is located. FAA has separately asked airports to share success stories about a particular mitigation via email at 9-ARP-R2R-Airports@faa.gov.
FAA Message to Airport Directors. This morning Deputy Associate Administrator for Airports Winsome Lenfert sent the following message to airport directors regarding the survey:
Dear Part 139 Airport Director,
We need your help to increase public confidence in air travel. The FAA has been asked to gauge the extent to which U.S. airports and airlines have been able to implement recommended practices for reducing the public health risk of COVID-19 transmission. To help us respond to this request, we ask that you please take time to complete our Runway to Recovery Airport Survey. We are sending a separate survey to passenger airlines to gather their input.
The survey is anonymous and responses will be aggregated. We ask that you please respond by December 3, 2020. In the coming months, we may reach out again to see whether practices at airports have changed. Also, if you have a success story about a particular mitigation you have implemented, please contact us at 9-ARP-R2R-Airports@faa.gov. Any stories you share will not be associated with your survey responses.
So why are we doing this?
Last July, the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services jointly issued Runway to Recovery: The United States Framework for Airlines and Airports to Mitigate the Public Health Risks of Coronavirus. Runway to Recovery included a number of recommended practices for airports and airlines designed to reduce the public health risk of COVID-19 during air travel, restore public confidence, assist in the recovery of the aviation industry and the larger U.S. economy, and help destination communities remain open and willing to allow passenger entry.
Your input to this survey will help us:
- Assess the extent to which U.S. airports have implemented the recommended Runway to Recovery practices;
- Identify the impact of these practices on airport safety and operations, public health risk, and the security and resiliency of the air transportation system;
- Understand potential barriers airports face when implementing the recommendations; and
- Identify additional practices that will help prevent the spread of the virus and further ensure the safety of passengers and the aviation workforce.
The FAA will share summarized findings with the general public and federal agencies that issued Runway to Recovery and use it to update the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the progress of U.S. airports and airlines implementing measures to mitigate risks associated with COVID-19.
Your input is critical to ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of the global pandemic on the aviation industry, and we appreciate your participation!
Winsome Lenfert
Deputy Associate Administrator for Airports
If you have any questions, please email Justin Barkowski at justin.barkowski@aaae.org.
