Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability at Airports: A Primer (2024)

Chapter: Appendix B: Airport Activities and Components

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Suggested Citation: "Appendix B: Airport Activities and Components." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability at Airports: A Primer. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27982.
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Appendix B. Airport Activities and Components

Airports partake in a wide range of activities, from financial planning to terminal operations, and many of these can be disrupted or impacted by the changing climate (e.g., extreme weather events). Table B-1, adapted from ACRP Report 147, provides a list of components of different airport activities that may be helpful when considering a vulnerability assessment.

Table B-1: Airport Activities and Components

Airport Activity Components
Administration & Finance
  • Human resources functions
  • Airport leadership
  • Insurance coordination
  • Tenant contracting
  • Budgeting for capital and operating expenses
  • Social media
  • Public relations/press relations
  • Reviewing financial impacts of increased weather-related maintenance
  • Contracted services including provisions for existing on-call trades in place before events and post-event processes for major repair projects
Planning & Environment Airport
  • Master Plan
  • Airport sustainability and energy management
  • Strategic planning
  • Planning documents (e.g., Irregular Operations (IROPS) plan, Continuity of Operations [COOP] Plan)
  • Engineering design standards
  • Engineering planned improvements (e.g., change in materials, runway length/position)
  • Environmental compliance (including noise, groundwater, and hazardous materials)
  • NEPA documentation
Airfield Operations
  • Runways (operations and maintenance)
  • Taxiways (operations and maintenance)
  • Aprons
  • Jetways/boarding bridges
  • Flight logistics
  • Air traffic control
  • Fuel tanks
  • Documenting impacts to airside pavement, runway lighting, and related areas
  • Deicing
  • Runway maintenance
  • On-airport communication systems (e.g., internal PA system and radios)
Terminal Operations
  • Check-In/ticketing
  • Retail
  • Gate areas, terminal space beyond TSA checkpoints
  • HVAC system upkeep and maintenance
  • Terminal facility maintenance
  • Janitorial/custodial services
  • Waste removal
  • Gates
  • Baggage
  • Lighting and signage
  • Utilities (including electricity, phone lines, and water/wastewater)
  • Information technology (IT) infrastructure
  • Operational areas aside from those that support aircraft. Pre-security areas
  • Documenting impacts to terminal buildings (interior and exterior)
  • On-airport communication systems (e.g., internal PA system and radios)
Ground Transportation & Parking
  • Parking lots
  • Transit stations
  • Access roads
  • Recirculation road
  • Curbside facilities
  • On-airport rental car facilities
  • Road and parking maintenance
  • Documenting impacts to airport roads, transit connections, and parking
Safety & Security
  • TSA checkpoints
  • Terminal space beyond TSA checkpoints
  • Badging and identification systems
  • Airport-wide Emergency Operations Center
  • Fire-fighting operations
  • On-airport communication systems (e.g., internal PA system and radios)

Page 24
Suggested Citation: "Appendix B: Airport Activities and Components." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Assessing Climate Change Vulnerability at Airports: A Primer. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/27982.
Save
Cancel
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