The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), and Airports Council International (ACI) have launched a joint initiative to reduce the risk of runway incursions.
A runway incursion is defined as an aircraft, vehicle, or person being incorrectly present on a runway or within its protected area. Incursions are documented in IATA’s Annual Safety Reports, and several recent incursions have been fatal. Preventing incursions requires close coordination between airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, regulators, and frontline personnel.
The Joint Runway Safety Initiative focuses on three areas:
- Improving safety reporting and data capture, including incidents, near misses, precursor events, and observations from frontline personnel.
- Strengthening local runway safety teams as the main forum for airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, and other stakeholders to assess local risks and agree coordinated action.
- Sharing progress and lessons learned so that effective practices can be adopted more widely by airports and organizations with similar operating environments.
“Flying is the safest form of long-distance travel. Maintaining that record requires a relentless focus on continuous improvement, supported by global standards, safety data, and collaboration. This initiative brings airlines, airports, and air navigation service providers together to identify runway risks earlier and take coordinated action,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Operations, Safety, and Security.
The initiative builds on existing efforts, including the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions (GAPPRI) – a collaboration of ICAO, Eurocontrol, and the Flight Safety Foundation endorsed by IATA, ACI, and CANSO—as well as the ICAO Global Runway Safety Action Plan.
The Joint Runway Safety Initiative will further the goals of these global plans using tools and programs developed by IATA, CANSO, and ACI, including risk-assessment resources, runway safety checklists, and support for Local Runway Safety Teams. This includes ACI’s Runway Safety Team Implementation Package, developed under its APEX in Safety program; the Runway Safety Checklist co-developed by ACI and CANSO; IATA’s Runway Incursion Safety Risk Assessment; the GAPPRI gap-analysis tool for airlines; and assessments of airline risk assessments and mitigations through the IOSA program.
“Runway safety depends on clear communication and coordinated decisions across the airport environment. Strong Local Runway Safety Teams bring controllers, airports, airlines, and other operational partners together to identify risks and agree practical,” said Andrea Sack, Senior Vice President, Global Operations, CANSO.
«Airports sit at the center of this challenge, where every part of the aviation system converges. Local knowledge and sustained collaboration are what turn safety guidance into real reductions in risk, and ACI is committed to supporting our members as they put these tools to work,» said Darryl Dowd, Vice President of Safety, Security, and Operations, ACI World.
