The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finalized a rule requiring commercial airports to implement safety management systems (SMS). Over 250 of the country's busiest airports will need to devise and implement SMS within the next five years.

FAA completes safety rule

The final rule will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register and apply to approximately 265 Part 139 airports - qualifying airports are those classified as a large, medium, or small hub, handle an average of 100,000 flight movements annually (over three years), or handle international operations.

Associate Administrator for Airports, Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E, commented,

"The safe operation of our nation’s airports is paramount during these historic times in aviation as we work to repair and construct necessary airport infrastructure. This rule promotes safety and allows airports to work collaboratively with partners to mitigate risks and avert accidents."

Delta Air Lines aircraft at Atlanta Airport ATL
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

Airports will have a timeframe of 12–24 months to submit an Implementation Plan (IP), followed by 12 months to submit an Airport Certification Manual (ACM) and 36 months to implement the IP following its approval. SMS plans will need to demonstrate an "explicit, proactive, and engaged process for identifying and quantifying potential hazards and risks and for managing them in a systematically coherent, logical, and reasonable way."

The rule has been in the making for over 10 years following the FAA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued in October 2010 - the agency then issued a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) in July 2016 and a third open comment period in 2021.

Bolstering airport safety

The directive will require US airports to establish robust and comprehensive safety systems as a means of identifying and preventing risks. Some of the examples given by the FAA include airport safety committees, self-inspections, enhanced training, and meticulous recordkeeping.

SEA S Concourse Aerial View
Photo: Lukas Souza | Simple Flying

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The FAA's requirements for an airport safety management system involve the following components:

  • Safety policy - establishes safety objectives and defines methods and organizational structure.
  • Risk management - processes and procedures for identifying hazards and their associated risks within airport operations
  • Safety assurance - ensuring the safety management system is functioning effectively.
  • Promoting safety - fostering an operating environment that emphasizes safety.

Why are safety management systems important?

As demand for air services increases, safety risks during commercial aviation operations also go up due to various factors, including an increase in air traffic and changing procedures. A fundamental tenet of the new rule is to encourage airports to identify and mitigate risks early before they lead to accidents.

As the FAA explains,

"An SMS provides the framework to support a positive safety culture. An SMS includes repeatable and systematic processes to proactively manage safety. Decision-making processes are structured, consistent, defendable, measurable, and data-driven. Hazards are identified and safety risk controls implemented before an accident or incident occurs. Safety Assurance processes, including program and performance evaluation, provide a means for continuous safety oversight; therefore, allowing for a more efficient, smoother, and safer airfield operation."

US carriers have already been required to implement SMS since 2018, with the FAA noting that these safety systems have helped usher in the "safest era in commercial aviation history."

Do you think the FAA's rule requiring airports to adopt safety management systems (SMS) is a good move? Let us know your insights in the comment section.