Many different types of disasters happen at airports, from terrorist attacks to natural disasters, and they will happen again. All commercial service airports in the United States are required to have an Airport Emergency Plan (AEP), which is designed to address an airport's response to disaster-causing hazards. The FAA Advisory Circular 150/5200-31C on AEP development states, “The AEP does not need to reflect all four phases of comprehensive emergency management. Rather, its focus should be mainly on response and initial recovery issues. Detailed Mitigation Plans, Administrative Plans, or Recovery Plans can be handled separately.” Many airports do not have these detailed disaster recovery plans, as they are difficult to develop, and information related to airport-specific recovery is limited. As airports continue to grow not only in complexity but in their significance to their region, there will be an increased need for expedited recovery following a disaster.

The objective of this research is to develop an all-hazards disaster recovery process for airports to create their own recovery plan specific to the unique needs based on the airport’s location and environment as well as the airport’s users and stakeholders.