Airport Alert: House Passes National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act

The House passed H.R. 884, the National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act, sponsored by Aviation Subcommittee Chair Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA), by a vote of 293-133 on September 14. The bill now goes to the Senate where it awaits further action. 
 
This legislation, originally introduced in the previous Congress in 2020 and supported by AAAE and other aviation groups, requires the Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, to develop a national aviation preparedness plan to tackle future communicable disease outbreaks, as first recommended by the Government Accountability Office in 2015 following the Ebola outbreak. The bill also directs DOT to work with the airports, air carriers, labor unions representing frontline at-risk workers, and other key aviation stakeholders on a plan to:
 
• Provide airports and air carriers with an adaptable and scalable framework to align emergency response plans;

• Create a process to identify appropriate personal protective equipment for aviation and Federal workers to reduce the likelihood of exposure;

• Create a process to identify appropriate techniques, strategies, and protective infrastructure for the cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitization of aircraft and enclosed facilities;

• Clearly delineate the responsibilities of sponsors and operators of airports, air carriers, and Federal agencies in responding to a communicable disease; and 

• Identify opportunities to develop and deploy emerging technologies and solutions to reduce communicable disease transmission.

During debate on the bill, House Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA) spoke in support of the legislation, saying, "America's aviation sector is absolutely critical to our economy. It is critical to moving travelers for business, travelers to visit family, travelers for tourism purposes, and for goods to be transported all across the United States and the globe. We've got to make sure we are able to limit, contain, and reduce the impact of these disease outbreaks in a timely, decisive and coordinated manner."