Airport Staff

The aviation industry has a long-standing commitment to safe and efficient operations. A layered approach to safety and security at each step of the passenger journey and in airport operations helps to reduce risk to passengers, employees, and properties. The aviation industry, including ACRP, has examined the impacts of communicable diseases on airport operations in the past. Most notably, ACRP Synthesis 83: Preparing Airports for Communicable Diseases on Arriving Flights¹ reviewed experiences from six different outbreaks, categorized the various findings, and outlined future research priorities. The Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Report GAO-16-127 previously articulated the roles and responsibilities of relevant agencies in response to communicable diseases in an airport environment.² Despite these efforts, COVID-19 exposed critical gaps in pandemic preparedness in the aviation industry and raised key concerns regarding organizational structure, planning, and operations of airport facilities.

Because of their functional role as a nexus for collecting and distributing travelers, airports have been called upon to implement health checks, quarantines, and other procedures for managing the flow of inbound and outbound passengers. In the past, these have been deployed primarily at major airports, focusing on international rather than domestic travelers. The COVID-19 public health emergency introduced new questions about interstate travel and domestic health and safety checks that neither public health experts nor airports could entirely answer. COVID-19 also introduced a new scale of operational need to protect health and wellness across the entire passenger journey. While efforts in the past may have focused on immigration or been directed at specific functions of the airport, COVID-19 required an equivalent level of response and consistency across the entire airport system.

Airports generally have clear roles and responsibilities for emergency response situations across airside operations, emergency personnel, and airport leadership. COVID-19, however, was not a typical emergency. Due to the critical impact on passengers in the terminal, departments had to be engaged in new ways with passenger services, tenants, and terminal operations. In response to COVID-19, airports worked rapidly to maintain operational flexibility in order to address public health guidelines. The guidelines provided in this WebResource incorporate any evaluations of the efficacy of these new procedures, codifying which should be retained.

Within the airport, airside and landside operations are complemented by organizational verticals, such as customer experience, commercial properties, public safety, facilities/maintenance, and communications, which all must work together effectively. During the COVID-19 pandemic, airport personnel were asked to continue core functions despite a reduction in staff numbers and very real fears of becoming ill or infecting a loved one. Airports needed to take responsibility for the well-being of the individuals working in the airport environment but had little advice on how to do so. Along with new approaches to logistics, such as enforcing physical distancing, keeping seats open, and separating staff from the traveling public as much as possible, airports made efforts to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to their workers despite being unfamiliar with disposable medical supply providers and the intense competition for these limited products. Airports also needed to provide regular guidelines to their employees—a daunting task in a sea of ever-changing information. Anecdotally, airports relied on informal means of communication with colleagues at other airports, trade organizations, and their professional networks to share information. This WebResource consolidates the collected experiences of airport staff and other stakeholders involved in these efforts for the benefit of anyone who seeks similar guidelines.