BACKGROUND

Airports spend a great deal of time and effort to prepare for the response to all possible incidents, events, and emergencies.  From aircraft accidents to VIP movements, many airports have plans in place to manage these atypical operations. Traditionally, a great deal of effort is spent preparing for the actual event, but it’s becoming more critical to plan for the resumption of normal operations and business as the aftermath can have lasting effects that can be felt throughout the aviation community for a long period of time. The effects run the spectrum from loss of life and facilities to delay and lost revenue. Outside of the aviation community, many other industries are tackling this issue as well. Critical business and government providers must prepare for not only the emergency but the recovery and resumption of normal opportunities

The transition from crisis management to business continuity and the continuation of critical business functions during and after serious incidents and events is an essential capability of mature and resilient airports.  This can be a paradigm shift for many emergency management officials. Airports serve critical functions within their local communities as well as playing a key part in the business of many of their stakeholders. An incident or event can generate cascading effects on operations, stakeholders, and, ultimately, revenue. As the key partner to these stakeholders, it is important for airports to develop strong business resilience programs by collecting and sharing best practices on this topic that are based on industry expertise.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is the development of an airport business resiliency program for integration into existing airport crisis management programs. The airport business resiliency program should be applicable to multiple types of incidents and events based on lessons learned and best practices to help airports and stakeholders implement business continuity planning before and during periods of atypical operations.

Based on analysis of relevant incidents and events, this research should provide risk management strategies to develop a scalable program to align with existing Airport Emergency Plans (AEP) and/or other airport, airline, and stakeholder plans. The researcher should pay special attention to pre- and post-incident/event planning. 

The scalable program should include at a minimum:

o   A guide for developing an airport business continuity plan

o   Guidelines for implementing the airport business resiliency program

o   A review of technology, systems, and platforms being used to successfully support the airport business resiliency program

o   Training plan

o   Drill and exercise programs

o   Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) response plan

o   Outreach and communication strategies for pre-incident/event planning and response

o   A maintenance plan for continuous review and update of the airport business resiliency program

o   Guidelines for understanding the financial impact of an incident/event