Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Programs (2012)

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1 In an effort to effectively pool resources during emergencies, airport operators have historically entered into mutual aid agreements with local fire departments and law enforcement agencies. They also occasionally rely on airport operator associations in their respective states for assistance in fulfilling informal mutual aid requests when emergency use of airport-specific equipment and specialized personnel are required. However, challenges arise when widespread disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes, occur because airports may not be first in line for receiving mutual aid assets. For example, what happens if there is a major disaster that affects numerous airports and informal mutual aid is unavailable? Municipal and private non-aviation industries, such as electric power, water/wastewater, and public works, have experienced major disasters that have disrupted their operations; consequently, these industries have developed formal, well-organized mutual aid programs at the state, regional, and national level to ensure that utility services are renewed as quickly and efficiently as possible following an emergency. Airport operators and managers can develop similar programs and thus alleviate many of the problems experienced in a severe emergency or major disaster. Even if an airport is not directly affected by a major incident, that airport’s operations may be stressed as a result of having to divert aircraft or accom- modate the arrival of large-scale federal logistical aircraft supporting a regional disaster. There are two regional aviation organizations that assist with airport mutual aid, Western Airports Disaster Operations Group (WESTDOG) and Southeast Airports Disaster Operations Group (SEADOG), as well as a few state-level organizations and multi-airport authorities. Under ACRP Project 04-10, a research team has investigated the mutual aid program concept and developed this Guidebook for airport practitioners that • Explains the benefits of a formal mutual aid program; • Identifies the obstacles in gaining interest from potential members; • Gives steps to implement and sustain a program; • Suggests possibilities for funding a mutual aid program; • Resolves liability and reimbursement issues and addresses other potential issues; and • Provides best practices/lessons learned from mutual aid programs used by non-aviation industries that can be implemented in an airport-to-airport mutual aid program at the regional and/or national level. To get an idea of the aviation community’s interest in developing regional and/or national mutual aid programs, airport operators/managers and representatives from more than 70 airports, state emergency management offices, state aviation directors, aviation associa- tions, federal agencies, and non-aviation organizations were interviewed. Case studies were also performed to gain a greater depth of understanding of the requirements, processes, and restrictions that airport operators would like to see implemented in a mutual aid program. S U M M A R Y Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Programs

2 Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Programs Discussions with the airport operators led to the identification of common requirements that should be considered when creating a mutual aid program. The following are the rec- ommended fundamental characteristics, in descending order of perceived importance: 1. Voluntary participation, 2. Limited to aviation functions, 3. Continued control by receiving airport, 4. No impact on the operational effectiveness of the responding airport, 5. Restoration of operations at the affected airport as quickly as possible after an emergency, 6. Effective communications, and 7. Precise matching of need and aid. Many of the benefits of a mutual aid program were also discussed. Member airports have common equipment and specialized personnel available to assist and can provide quick response to requests to allow timely return to normal operations. The program can be flex- ible enough in design to satisfy the members while also being formal enough to satisfy liability and reimbursement concerns. Finally, a mutual aid program can be cost-effective, an important feature during times of budget constraints. Utility and public works organizations already have effective state, regional, and national mutual aid programs in place. Four statewide and three national entities were examined in an effort to correlate their programs to airport-to-airport mutual aid programs. Many of the organizations that were researched expressed the difficulties they encountered in con- nection with convincing similar entities in the industry to join a state or national program. To increase mutual aid awareness and membership, leaders of the mutual aid organizations used various forms of education at conferences; website and social media efforts; newspaper, journal, and video publicity; and roving teams. All of the non-aviation mutual aid organizations that were researched had formal mutual aid agreements in place that required individual members to obtain approval from the spon- soring municipalities and private corporations. These written agreements spelled out liabil- ity issues and reimbursement procedures. Non-aviation, state-level mutual aid organizations were structured around committees of volunteer leaders of their respective industries with liaison support from their states’ emergency management offices and respective department agencies. Mutual aid programs sponsored at the national level are commonly administered by a director in an office typically located in the association’s emergency management poli- cies division. The director is actively involved in helping develop and promote state-level mutual aid programs and can serve as a facilitator between federal agencies and regions or states affected by a large-scale disaster event, when requested. The director also has close ties with the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), which administers the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and federally related regulatory agencies. In order to have a successful airport-to-airport mutual aid program, the airport leader- ship, as well as local government officials, must have a strong conviction that the program is important. It only takes a few airport operators who are interested in mutual aid to plant the seed for a program to be implemented. These airport operators then have to sell the pro- gram to relevant municipalities. Having a good relationship with the municipal emergency manager is a strong benefit in promoting the creation of a program. In starting a mutual aid program, the interested parties have to develop the purpose and scope. The purpose statement defines the goals of the proposed program and the scope sets

Airport-to-Airport Mutual Aid Programs 3 the general requirements, boundaries, and restrictions. Key stakeholders, such as the airlines, security, federal agency representatives, state aviation agencies, airport owner associations, and community leaders, should be identified. With input from the key stakeholders, an organizational charter, document, or plan is finalized to include the functional structure of the members of the program. A charter would be a formal written agreement that has been ratified by the members of the mutual aid program. As noted earlier, there are two established regional airport mutual aid organizations. This Guidebook explains the operations of WESTDOG and SEADOG and goes further to explore the creation of new regional groups or expansion of the current groups. Ideas for a national mutual aid program are also presented. The final chapters of the Guidebook give detailed steps relating to operating and main- taining a mutual aid program. These chapters are geared toward established members, either in the requesting role or responding role, and provide direction for preparedness actions; pre-deployment, execution, and post-deployment activities; and resolution of liability issues. The characteristics and procedures of the program coordinator are elaborated upon to include the coordinator’s functions during the request, response, execution, and post- activities phases. In conclusion, airport operators and owners can definitely benefit from establishing or joining airport mutual aid programs. This Guidebook, together with best practices of estab- lished non-aviation mutual aid programs, can help facilitate the process. The emergency management culture at the local, state, and national level has strongly professed the impor- tance of mutual aid programs. It is time for airport operators to do the same.