Airports of all sizes faced challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, heightened by the delicate balance between sustaining airport operations and public health and differing governance structures. TRB hosted a webinar on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM Eastern that shared lessons learned from airports’ experiences during the pandemic and the lasting effects they are still experiencing to help guide effective response and preparedness for future public health challenges.

This webinar was based on ACRP Research Report 253: Airport Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

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

The slides are linked in the meeting materials. View the recorded webinar below.

Webinar agenda and presenters

1. Airport perspective: Non-hub airport – Mark Bishop, Cherry Capital Airport

2. Airport perspective: Large hub airport – Bryan Benefiel, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

3. Question and answer session moderated by John Wilhelmi, Eastern Research Group

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. Understand the key challenges and complexities airports faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, including implementing health protocols and accommodating social distancing

2. Gain insights from interviews with airport representatives to inform future preparedness strategies for managing communicable disease outbreaks

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.