FAA workshop on flight diversions

   Developing an airport information webpage, increasing participation of smaller airports in strategic planning teleconferences, and better coordinating air traffic control equipment outages were among the recommendations made by aviation sector representatives at a workshop Wednesday convened to improve decision-making about flights diverted because of bad weather.
   The meeting at Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington was prompted by a surprise snowstorm in late October that forced dozens of domestic and international flights bound for New York to divert to other airports. In several instances, airports were not prepared to handle the onslaught of unscheduled traffic, causing planes full of disgruntled passengers to sit for hours on the tarmac because no gates were available.
   Passengers stranded on planes in years past led to the enactment of federal legislation that allows the DOT to fine airlines up to $27,000 for every passenger stuck on a plane at an airport for more than three hours. The impact of plane diversions is primarily discussed as a passenger problem, but it also effects shippers with cargo and mail carried below deck. International flights to large gateway airports tend to carry a large amount of freight.
   Most of the recommendations from the meeting focused on better information-sharing, but experts from the Federal Aviation Administration, airlines and airports also suggested that the FAA create special data tags for diverted flights on air traffic controller screens and that airports improve contingency plans.
   “It’s in the best interest of the flying public that we improve the way we share information so that during severe weather events, all of the many moving parts of our aviation system have the most updated and best information,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a written statement.
   All of the recommendations, except for the one about data tags, could help airlines, airports and air traffic controllers work in tandem during diversion situations to accommodate flights as smoothly and efficiently as possible, the FAA said.
   Some participants suggested that regional hotlines like the one currently used to manage significant weather events affecting the Texas area could be expanded to other regions to more effectively manage re-routed flights.
   The FAA said it plans to refine the recommendations and then work with the industry to put them into effect as quickly as possible.  — Eric Kulisch