Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Programs (2012)

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15 Types of Existing Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Programs Airport-to-airport mutual aid programs exist in many forms, some of which have not generally been recognized as airport-to-airport mutual aid programs. The following are basic categories of airport-to-airport mutual aid programs: • One-on-one partnerships • Single-owner multiple airports • Nearby multiple airports • Intrastate • Concentrated, regional interstate • Widespread, regional interstate • National • International One-on-One Partnerships between Airports Several examples of one-on-one mutual aid partnerships were identified during the research project. One is the command-and-control facility sharing work between Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) and Dallas-Ft.Worth International Airport (DFW). Subsequent to Hurricane Katrina, DFW and MSY worked together to develop an operational protocol by which MSY could be managed by MSY managers working from DFW’s operations center in Texas rather than at MSY. The concept has been fully exercised once. Miami International Airport (MIA) has a number of one-on-one partnerships; however, they are for security procedures, not for disaster response. Most U.S. airports—certainly the larger ones—have sister airports elsewhere in the world. For example, MIA has sister airports in Brazil’s Infraero Southeast Region, Saõ Paulo (Brazil), Antigua and Barbuda (V.C. Bird International Airport), Lagos, Nigeria (Murtala Muhammed International Airport), Lima (Peru), and Valencia (Spain). An examination of the potential for basing airport-to-airport mutual aid on a sister airport pair led to the conclusion that the sister airports program is an unlikely basis for a mutual aid program. Single-Owner Multiple Airports Many U.S. airports—both commercial and GA—belong to multi-airport systems. Examples include Chicago, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Houston Airport System, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Los Angeles World Airports, Massport, the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, and the Jackson C h a p t e r 2 Existing Organizations

16 airport-to-airport Mutual aid programs Municipal Airport Authority. Multi-airport systems may consist of various combinations of commercial, reliever, and GA airports. Most of these entities engage in some form of mutual aid among their properties in emergencies and disasters, but the extent of the mutual aid is rarely optimized. Nearby Multiple Airports If “nearby” is defined as within approximately 50 miles, no examples of this category of airport-to-airport mutual aid program were found. There are examples of mutual aid occurring during weather diversions among the South Florida airports, but weather diversions fall under normal operations—not disasters. Some areas (e.g., Southern California, the Bay Area, and Chicago-Milwaukee) show no evidence of planned mutual aid arrangements for disasters; however, some closely situated airports cooperate in larger categories and would benefit from mutual aid through that mechanism. Intrastate Two intrastate airport-to-airport mutual aid programs were identified, and both owed at least part of their existence to efforts by the state aviation office. In Colorado, CARST serves to give immediate and long-term operational, planning, and liaison support to local airports and communities that experience an aircraft accident. CARST volunteers must have extensive airport management experience, as well as experience in response and recovery for at least one aircraft accident. CARST was implemented as a joint project of the Colorado Airport Operators Association (CAOA) and the Colorado Division of Aeronautics. The functions of CARST and its sequence are depicted in Figure 2. In Louisiana, there is a statewide effort to place emergency generators at commercial and GA airports using state aviation funds. There is an informal arrangement that the generators can be lent to airports in need. Concentrated, Regional Interstate One example was found for a concentrated, regional interstate mutual aid program: the informal ARFF equipment-sharing pool in New England. The commercial airports in New England have Figure 2. CARST timeline.

existing Organizations 17 historically helped each other when a loan of ARFF equipment is needed (such as during instances in which the equipment necessary to maintain index is damaged, undergoing maintenance, or being reconditioned). The system could also work for a special event that requires a temporary raised index. There is no formal organization, and equipment loans are arranged directly by ARFF chiefs and their deputies. Widespread, Regional Interstate Two airport-to-airport mutual aid programs fall into the category of widespread, regional interstate mutual aid programs, SEADOG and WESTDOG, which came into existence in 2004 and 2007, respectively. Although the two DOGs have organizational differences, they both offer the same range of expert volunteers and equipment loans to an airport that has a disaster-related need. SEADOG and its participating airports and airports from other parts of the country responded to hurricanes in 2005 and 2008, and SEADOG has gone to alert status for every hurricane since 2005 that has approached the U.S. coast. SEADOG’s primary communications tools have been e-mails and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Bridgeline, and this has now been extended by a dedicated website (http://seadogops.wordpress.com/). Specific aid coordinated through SEADOG has included airport managers; operations specialists; electricians; heat, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) technicians; generators; portable lighting systems; and fuel trucks. SEADOG has also disseminated information that helped volunteering airports obtain EMAC mission numbers and reimbursement. SEADOG does not have a written procedures manual. Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport has led coordination since SEADOG’s inception, but has had major assistance from other airports of all sizes that have served as special- ized assistant coordinators for geographic areas, ARFF, and law enforcement. There are no dues or fees required to be a member; all funding comes from services conducted at the individual participating airports. WESTDOG has not yet had a full response to a disaster in its region, but it went on alert for the fires in San Diego County in 2007 when smoke threatened airport operations and fire- fighting operations put unusual stress on local airports. SEADOG joined the alert for the fires. The main organizational differences between WESTDOG and SEADOG are that WESTDOG has formal membership and scheduled, rotating, coordinator and assistant coordinator duties among the larger airports in the region. This characteristic of WESTDOG seeks to leverage the larger staff and financial resources of the large airports, whereas SEADOG achieves the same goal by distributing coordinator and sub-coordinator duties among several airports in a wider range of sizes. WESTDOG has a written procedures manual (reproduced as Appendix B to this Guidebook) and its own dedicated website (http://faithgroup.sharepointsite.com/WESTDOG), which requires a username and password for access. WESTDOG also has a public website at http://westdogairports.com/. Both WESTDOG and SEADOG often schedule progress review and mutual education sessions at American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and Airports Council International- North America (ACI-NA) meetings and conventions. WESTDOG also has periodic—usually annual—coordination meetings at the coordinator’s airport. SEADOG and WESTDOG have been successful because of the high level of commitment by airport senior management and by skilled airport employees who have volunteered for the aid missions. Based on the experiences during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and organizational evo- lution since then, the intended operations and functions, and sequences thereof, are represented by the timeline in Figure 3.

18 airport-to-airport Mutual aid programs National No national airport-to-airport mutual aid program currently exists. International No international airport-to-airport mutual aid program currently exists. Characteristics of Existing Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Programs Existing airport-to-airport mutual aid programs share the following fundamental characteristics, which are listed in descending order of importance: • Voluntary participation; • Limited to aviation functions; • Continued control by receiving airport; • No impact to the operational effectiveness of the volunteering airport; • Restoration of operations at the affected airport as quickly as possible; • Effective communications; and • Precise matching of need and aid. Functions of Existing Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Programs Existing airport-to-airport mutual aid programs provide services in a number of functional areas and situations, and the specifics depend on the type and mission of the program. These existing functions have been documented through a literature review, airport interviews, and case studies. Findings are summarized in Table 2. Figure 3. DOG response timeline.

existing Organizations 19 Ty pical Cate gories of Aid Ty pe of Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Program Interstate Functions during Disasters One-on-One Partnership Single-O wn er Multi-Airport Nearby Multiple Airports Intrastate Concentrated Regional Widespread Regional Nationa l International Matching needs and resources X X X X Ev ent management/common operating picture X X Rapid engineering assessment X Liaison to state emergency operations center (EOC) Airport management replacement Operational supplement X Operational backfill X Maintenance and repair X Electrical X Information technolog y (IT) X Communications X HVAC X Jet wa ys /Airstairs ARFF equipment X X X X Fuel sy stems X X X X Security La w enforcement X X Emergenc y generator X X X Emergenc y or temporary lighting X X Debris removal Functions during Emergencies Post-disaster planning and liaison X X X Regional disaster recov ery X Backup EOC X X Backup operations center X X X Functions during Non-Disasters Sno w clearance X X X ARFF equipment X Aircraft reco ve ry equipment X X X Shelter management Sharing lessons learned X X X X Special ev ents X Peer rev ie w X X Exercise observ ers X X Table 2. Functions of existing airport-to-airport mutual aid programs.