Flight Plan to Recovery: Preparing Airports for the Return of the Traveling Public (2020)

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ix Preface   “Flight Plan to Recovery: Preparing Airport Business Partners for the Return of the Flying Public” was held on May 28, 2020, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. via a Zoom webinar. The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB’s) Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) organized the webinar as part of its series of convening activities, “ACRP Insight Events.” This event focused on convening a quick response to the ongoing operational and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the airport industry and methods to get the confidence of the traveling public back. The event featured speakers from airports and their business partners in the airport ecosystem, including airlines, concessionaires, ground transportation providers, and governmental organizations such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Transportation Security Agency (TSA). The event led off with an opening and welcome remarks, followed by the FAA overview, a health update, and an industry overture. These remarks were followed by airport case studies and best practices; airline highlights; and a look at other stakeholders, including concessionaires, ground transportation providers, and a governmental agency. The event ended with a Q&A and a wrap-up. These proceedings were prepared by Theresia Schatz, Senior Program Officer with the Transportation Research Board, Airport Cooperative Research Program, who served as the rapporteur. They are a compilation of the presentation and a factual summary of the ensuing discussions at the Insight Event. The planning committee was responsible for constructing the agenda and identifying and obtaining speakers for the event. The views contained in these proceedings are those of the individual ACRP Insight Event participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all participants; the planning committee; TRB; or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. This document was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purposes of this independent review are to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making the published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that the document meets institutional requirements for clarity, objectivity, and responsiveness to the project charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process. TRB thanks the following individuals for their review of the summary: Ellen McClain, InterVISTAS, Washington, D.C.; Bob Montgomery, Southwest Airlines, Dallas, Texas; and Ryan Murphy, Program Officer with the Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Washington, D.C. Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they did not see the final draft of the symposium summary before its release. The review of this

x summary was overseen by Chris Hendrickson of Carnegie Mellon University and Chair, TRB Division Committee. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of these proceedings was performed in accordance with established procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the author and the institution. Events affecting air travel as it relates to COVID-19 are fluid and are changing often. Some information presented at this webinar Insight Event may be out of date at the time of publication. Readers are encouraged to keep in mind that the information was presented at the end of May 2020.