TOOL H

Incident Mitigation Plan Template

Introduction

Incident mitigation planning is a valuable tool for strengthening resilience in GA airports and potentially reducing the frequency of disruptions to airport operations. While emergency planning allows airport staff to respond to incidents more efficiently and effectively once the incident has occurred, mitigation planning allows staff to minimize economic and infrastructural loss. By identifying potential risks and developing strategies to protect staff, tenants, stakeholders, and property from similar events, airport personnel can disrupt the cycle of damage and reconstruction caused by shocks and stressors. As the frequency and severity of the shocks and stressors impacting GA airports continue to increase, mitigation planning has become a more urgent necessity for airport staff.

This Incident Mitigation Plan template provides a framework for creating a unique plan best suited for each airport’s needs and priorities. The template will encompass risk-assessment strategies, training and exercise plans, communication and stakeholder engagement, and pre-incident planning. The template can be generalized to fit several different shocks and stressors or adapted to each type of shock or stressor.

Mitigation Strategies and Resources

Risk Assessment

The risk assessment, which identifies the potential financial, infrastructural, and human impacts of incidents on the airport, as well as their overall severity and likelihood, is the foundation for the mitigation planning process. To understand how to prevent damage and disruption of airport operations, airport staff must first analyze and understand the nature of the threats that impact them.

Training and Exercises

Regular training for all airport staff better prepares personnel to effectively respond to potential incidents at the standard required by the airport and assists in creating a standardized and consistent approach to emergency operations. Regular exercises involving internal staff and relevant external stakeholders allow airports to assess and improve the response to potential incidents in a low-risk environment while allowing participants to experience potential shocks and stressors without the real-world dangers and impacts. ACRP Project 02-92, “Creating Self-Directed Resiliency Plans at GA Airports” includes a Self-Directed Resiliency Toolkit, which contains the Stress-Test Exercise-in-a-Box tool (see Tool M in this report) that GA airport staff can use to conduct internal resilience trainings.

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement

Establishing, maintaining, and strengthening relationships and communication with stakeholders, such as tenants, private-sector partners, and local government entities, is a critical element of incident mitigation that improves the whole community’s response to potential shocks and stressors. There are several resources for building a communications plan within the Resiliency Toolkit, including an Emergency Communication Plan template and a Communications and Collaboration Guidelines document.

Pre-Incident Planning

Creating plans that clearly outline the process for immediate and long-term disaster response and recovery and detail each component and step of the response process is a vital part of mitigation planning. It is essential to ensure that all staff and stakeholders are familiar with their roles, responsibilities, and required actions in the event of an incident. There are several resources for pre-incident planning, including the Airport Emergency Plan template within this document, FEMA’s Incident Management Handbook (2017b), and FEMA’s Incident Action Planning Guide (2015b).

Existing Resources

Several existing resources for incident mitigation planning are available for airport staff to use. The following list provides examples of publicly available information that staff can use to inform their incident mitigation plans and strategies.

• FEMA State Mitigation Planning Policy Guide (2022a) and Local Mitigation Planning Policy Guide (2023a);

• FEMA State Mitigation Plan Review Guide (2015a) and Local Mitigation Plan Review Guide (2011b);
• FEMA Guide to Expanding Mitigation: Making the Connection to the Coast (2022b);
• FEMA Fact Sheet, “Mitigation Planning Program Resource List” (2021a);
• National Hazard Mitigation Planning Program, Mitigation Planning Training; and
• FAA AC 150/5200-31C, Airport Emergency Plan (2009).