When emergencies happen, airport management rely on plans for an efficient and effective response to a variety of scenarios. TRB hosted a webinar on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 from 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM Eastern that covered the issues and challenges experienced by airport staff when employing emergency plans to define roles, identify threats, and establish communication protocols. Presenters described specific emergency plan practices that can be applied to airports of all sizes. Presenters also reviewed best practices for handling routine and emergency flight diversions for airports that may not have the appropriate resources available.

This webinar is based on ACRP Synthesis 121: Managing a Flight Diversion with an Emergency Response at Small, Non-Hub, or General Aviation Airports and ACRP Synthesis 115: Practices in Airport Emergency Plans.

This webinar was sponsored by TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program.

The slides and recording are available. 

Webinar agenda and presenters

1. Flight diversion with an emergency response a small, non-hub, or general aviation airports – Rose Agnew, Aviation Innovation, LLC

2. Trends and best practices in airport emergency response – Ashlee Herring Delventhal, Tidal Basin Government Consulting, LLC

3. Trends and best practices in airport emergency response – Stephanie Murphy, Tidal Basin Government Consulting, LLC

4. Question and answer session moderated by David DiMaria, Barich, Inc.

The first 60 minutes of the webinar were for presentations and the final 30 minutes were reserved for audience questions.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this webinar, participants can:

1. Identify challenges experienced by airports when utilizing an emergency plan

2. Establish protocols based on best practices to handle a wide variety of emergencies, including flight diversions

American Institute of Certified Planners Certification Maintenance Credits

This webinar was approved by the American Planning Association (APA) for 1.5 Certification Maintenance (CM) Credits. CM credits provide continuing education opportunities for AICP Certified Planners to continue their professional skills and knowledge. To receive CM credits, Certified Planners should visit the TRB event webpage on American Planning Association and register their participation. If you have problems reporting your CM credits or have general questions about the CM program, please contact the APA. 

Continuing Education Units for Accredited Airport Executives

The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) provided 1 Continuing Education Units (CEU) to accredited airport executives who attended this webinar. Claim CEUs by visiting www.aaae.org/ceu. For questions about AAAE continuing education units, please contact accreditation@aaae.org.