Blue Ribbon Task Force Releases Interim Report on UAS Mitigation at Airports

July 12, 2019

WASHINGTON and OTTAWA – The Blue Ribbon Task Force on UAS Mitigation at Airports released its interim report today which includes lessons learned from London Gatwick’s December 2018 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) incursion incident as well as over twenty recommendations to industry and government on steps that should be taken to safeguard airports from UAS incursions. The Task Force, with members from the United States and Canada, was commissioned in April of this year by Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) to study the benefits and threats of UAS in and around airports and to make recommendations to industry and government.

Task Force Co-Chair Deborah Flint, Chief Executive Officer of Los Angeles World Airports, stated, “This interim report represents a significant step towards ensuring airports, the UAS industry, and government are on the same page and working towards solutions for UAS in and around airports. Much more work needs to be done, but we are now moving in the right direction.”

“Commercial UAS applications create new opportunities and add tremendous value to airport operations,” said Task Force Co-Chair Michael Huerta, who served as Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration from 2011-2018. “The Task Force also examined the gaps in safety and security and the need for government and airports to have clear policies to manage UAS incidents, both from a proactive and defensive posture.”

In addition to the review of London Gatwick’s 2018 UAS incursion for lessons learned, the interim report also provides a high-level overview of current technology, examines the current policy landscape and challenges faced by airports, offers initial recommendations to government and industry, and looks forward at additional areas for future Task Force work.

The Task Force recommendations are focused on:

  • Remote ID rulemaking and technology, including incentivizing voluntary compliance and ensuring data is made available to airport operations and public safety professionals on a real-time basis,
  • Communication and response planning, including UAS incursion response plan coordination,
  • Risk assessment, including defining roles and responsibilities and advance site-planning assessments,
  • Response management, including long-term airport closure planning and establishing clear lines of responsibility for reopening an airport after a UAS incursion,
  • Standardization, testing and design, including a call for more technology testing and eventual standards, better data collection, recording and sharing, and a recommendation on geofencing, and
  • Education and enforcement, including knowledge tests and a call for robust enforcement.

“Education is one of the categories of recommendations in the report. This includes ‘knowledge tests’ for UAS pilots as well as greater public information through high-profile awareness campaigns,” said Neil Wilson, President and CEO of NAV CANADA. “Transport Canada’s new rules for UAS operations were implemented on June 1. Notably, one of the key provisions is that operators must obtain a pilots certificate which requires passing one or more exams, depending on the complexity of operations. This, along with the Transport Canada’s public awareness campaign coordinated with NAV CANADA, the airports and law enforcement agencies, are significant steps to enhance UAS safety.”

“The rapid growth in unmanned aircraft systems is a development that airports, the UAS industry and government regulators are grappling with across North America and globally,” said Mark Laroche, President and CEO of Ottawa International Airport. “With this report, North America’s airports and UAS partners are speaking with one voice to work together with regulators and lawmakers in the United States and Canada. Unmanned systems have a valuable role to play, but their misuse can cause tremendous disruption to our travellers and the economy that we must work to avoid and mitigate.”

ACI-NA President and CEO, Kevin Burke, commended the Task Force’s initial work: “This initial report establishes the key issues that airports, state and local officials, the UAS industry, and the federal government must address to manage UAS operations in the vicinity of airports safely, securely, and effectively,” said Burke. “As this report makes clear, airport security is no longer simply limited to the perimeter of the airport; measures must be taken to protect beyond the perimeter for departing and approaching aircraft. As we’ve seen, recent incursions around airports demonstrate that more needs to be done and at a faster pace than the regulatory process allows, which is why the work of the Task Force is so important.”

AUVSI President and CEO Brian Wynne, who recently testified before the United States Senate on UAS security, suggested that the Task Force’s work is helping to address UAS mitigation from an airspace management perspective. “The initial work of the Task Force further underscores the importance of approaching UAS security from an overall airspace management perspective, rather than focusing solely on how to interdict an errant drone,” said Wynne. “Only by working together can industry and government develop holistic policy solutions that give us the framework we need to keep the skies secure while still allowing the nascent UAS industry to truly take off.”

The Task Force – comprised of former government officials, aviation leaders, airport operators, and security officials – brings together a cross-section of stakeholders representing the airport, UAS, and manned aviation communities to refine procedural practices and provide a policy framework to address the timely and critical issue of incursions by unauthorized UAS at airports and how best to mitigate this threat. The Task Force conferred with dozens of industry stakeholders including airports, UAS manufacturers, airlines, pilot groups, U.S. and Canadian government officials, military, commercial businesses, aviation stakeholders, and academia to issue initial findings and recommendations.

Over the coming months, the Task Force will continue to meet with subject matter experts in UAS technology, national security and defense, law enforcement, government, and those working in the National Air Space, including UAS operators, commercial and general aviation community, and air traffic controllers. The Task Force will also solicit comments on its website from interested parties as it conducts its work, and will continue to examine and refine standard operating procedures in response to unauthorized UAS and the policy framework.

The Task Force will release a comprehensive report later in 2019, followed by key congressional and governmental meetings in support of its recommendations. The final report will include additional topics including privacy, liability, lines of authority, and future delegation of counter-UAS authority, and will offer a template for airports to follow as response protocols are developed. The goal is for this work to lead to and inform future conversations about UAS mitigation at other facilities, such as national landmarks, stadiums, prisons, military bases, and other critical infrastructure.

The Blue Ribbon Task Force is comprised of former government officials, security professionals and aviation executives, including:

  • Michael Huerta, Former Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration (Co-Chair)
  • Deborah Flint, CEO, Los Angeles World Airports (Co-Chair)
  • Scott Brockman, President and CEO, Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority
  • Rich Davis, former Managing Director of Global Security, United Airlines
  • Trish Gilbert, Executive Vice President, National Air Traffic Controllers Association
  • Cathy Lanier, Senior Vice President of Security, National Football League
  • Mark Laroche, President and CEO, Ottawa International Airport
  • Huntley A. Lawrence, Director of Aviation, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
  • Chad Makovsky, EVP of Operations, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport
  • Marily Mora, President and CEO, Reno Tahoe Airport Authority
  • John Pistole, former Administrator, Transportation Security Administration and former Deputy Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Jamie Rhee, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation
  • Neil Wilson, CEO, NavCanada

For more information on the Blue Ribbon Task Force please visit: UASmitigationatairports.org.

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