PASSED: Committee Advances Sen. Moran’s Legislation to Bolster Airport Surface Safety

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) - chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space and Innovation - applauded this week's committee passage of the Runway Surface Awareness and Focused, Effective Training and Technology (Runway SAFE-T) Act, which he introduced with Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) to improve airport driver training and support technologies to reduce runway incursions and other surface safety incidents. This bipartisan legislation aims to address safety gaps that have contributed to a number of recent close calls in the national airspace system. The bill will now move to the full Senate for consideration.

"Recent close calls and runway incursions underscore the importance of investing in the tools and training needed to keep our airports safe," said Sen. Moran. "This legislation would bolster the efforts of leaders in government and the aviation industry to improve airport safety infrastructure and technology to protect passengers, workers and aircraft. I appreciate the bipartisan support of my colleagues in advancing this legislation out of committee, and I look forward to supporting this bill on the floor of the full Senate."

Specifically, the Runway SAFE-T Act would:

• Establish a task force to improve airport driver training that is comprised of airport organizations, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designees, individuals familiar with aviation training technologies, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), emergency rescue aircraft organizations, airport vehicle operators and any individuals deemed appropriate by the FAA Administrator.
• • The task force would make recommendations to the FAA Administrator regarding best practices for the operation of ground vehicles, including improved training programs and training technologies. After one year, the task force would compile a report with the recommendations.
• Utilize existing federal resources from the FAA's Airport Safety and Resilient Infrastructure Discretionary Program to be used on technology and training to improve safe operations of ground vehicles.
• • The resources would prioritize projects designed to support runway operational safety by reducing vehicle runway incursions and other surface safety incidents, as well as to improve situational awareness for ground vehicle operators in the movement area.

Items to note:

• In June, Sen. Moran chaired a hearing of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation to examine recent close calls in the national airspace system and identify ways to improve aviation safety. During the hearing, he previewed introduction of the Runway SAFE-T Act.
• There have been multiple close calls in the national airspace system and a collision at LaGuardia Airport in March, when an Air Canada Express flight hit an airport fire truck that entered the runway during landing, killing two pilots and injuring dozens.

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