Regulatory Alert: FAA/TSA Host Industry Day on Response Planning for Unauthorized UAS Operations
January 27, 2022
Yesterday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), hosted an “Industry Day on the Part 139 Airport Operator's Response to Unauthorized UAS Operations.“ The event, which was attended by over 680 participants, allowed FAA and TSA to address requirements in CertAlert 21-04 for Part 139 airport operators to update their airport emergency plans (AEPs) to include instructions for responding to unauthorized unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations in the airport environment. For additional information regarding the CertAlert, see our November 12 Regulatory Alert. 
We wanted to provide a brief recap of notable highlights from the event:
Yesterday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), hosted an “Industry Day on the Part 139 Airport Operator's Response to Unauthorized UAS Operations.“ The event, which was attended by over 680 participants, allowed FAA and TSA to address requirements in CertAlert 21-04 for Part 139 airport operators to update their airport emergency plans (AEPs) to include instructions for responding to unauthorized unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations in the airport environment. For additional information regarding the CertAlert, see our November 12 Regulatory Alert. 
We wanted to provide a brief recap of notable highlights from the event:
- UAS Response Plan Development. Representatives from the FAA Office of Airports walked through the expected components of a UAS response plan and what FAA Airport Certification Safety Inspectors will be looking for when an airport submits a UAS response plan for review. We understand that today some airports received from FAA a “UAS Response Procedures Checklist for Airport Operators,“ which outlines what FAA expects to be included the plan. During the event, FAA also highlighted PARAS 0031, “Airport Response to UAS Threats,“ as a useful tool for airports to reference when developing their response plans. We highly encourage you to review the materials and recording if your airport has not yet developed a response plan.
- Approved Airport UAS Response Plans. FAA indicated that to date, the agency has approved AEP updates from eight airports, while several others have been submitted to the agency for review. FAA noted that the approved plans differ significantly from one another.
- Information Sharing Among Airport Colleagues. FAA indicated that three airports have offered to discuss preparedness plans with their industry colleagues: Tampa International Airport (TPA), El Paso International Airport (ELP), and San Antonio International Airport (SAT).
- UAS Incident Reporting. TSA announced that tomorrow morning, the agency will be posting a proposed Airport Security Program (ASP) National Amendment (NA) on UAS Incident Reporting. Comments will be due on or before Monday, March 14.
- FAA/TSA Industry Day Recording. FAA has made a recording of the virtual event available on YouTube here.
