Regulatory Alert: FAA to Host March 15 Summit Focusing on Aviation Safety

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that the agency will host a 'Safety Summit' on Wednesday, March 15, at 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET, to examine recent incidents that the industry has seen throughout the National Airspace System (NAS), including close calls on runways and other operational events. 

The summit will feature an opening plenary session, moderated by Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen and Robert Sumwalt, former Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), that will be streamed live. AAAE President & CEO Todd Hauptli will be speaking on behalf the airport industry during the opening plenary session. The plenary will be followed by four afternoon breakout sessions focusing on commercial and general aviation (GA) operations, the air traffic system, and airport and ground operations.

Industry stakeholders and the public will be able to watch the Safety Summit's opening plenary session live through FAA's Youtube page here. There is an opportunity for a limited number of airport members to participate in the entire summit, which will be in person in the Washington, D.C. area, as further explained below. Please contact Justin Barkowski if you are interested in attending. 

Reason for FAA's Safety Summit. Over the past few months, FAA and the aviation industry have witnessed a series of near fatal accidents and runway incursions across the NAS, which has led to questions from lawmakers and the public on the reasons for an increase in these types of events. In February, Acting Administrator Nolen issued a Call to Action, announcing that the agency would (1) host a Safety Summit to examine what additional actions the community needs to take to maintain the longstanding safety record, and (b) form a safety review team to examine the 'U.S. aerospace system's structure, culture, processes, systems, and integration of safety efforts.' You can read the Call to Action here.  

Additional Details on Safety Summit. The summit will feature a morning panel and four breakout sessions in the afternoon of Wednesday, March 15. Additional details are provided as follows: 

• Opening/Plenary Session: 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET: Billy Nolen, Acting FAA Administrator, and Robert Sumwalt, former Chairman of the NTSB, will moderate a six-member panel, which will include AAAE President & CEO Todd Hauptli. The discussion will focus on what safety issues or challenges the industry is seeing and what actions are needed to maintain our safety record. This portion of the summit will be livestreamed on FAA's Youtube page here. 

• Breakout Sessions: 1:30-3 p.m. ET: FAA will host four breakout sessions in the afternoon, focusing on (1) commercial operations, (2) GA operations, (3) the air traffic system, and (4) airport and ground operations. For the airport-specific session, FAA and ACI-NA will be moderating a discussion on actions that can be taken to improve and maintain the industry's safety record. The breakout sessions will not be livestreamed and only open to in-person attendees. 

Opportunity for Airports to Participate. FAA has provided an opportunity for senior level airport representatives to participate in the Safety Summit. The event will be taking place in person in the Washington, D.C., area. FAA has asked that participants be an executive or senior member of the organization who can represent the organization from an operations and safety perspective. Given significant space constraints, we cannot guarantee that all interested persons can attend. However, if you or someone from your organization is interested, please contact Justin Barkowski for additional details and space availability.