PANYNJ takes steps to improve operational issues at JFK Airport

The interim measures, developed from working groups with participation from airport stakeholders, aim to address factors that contributed to issues like ground equipment failures that occurred during a recent storm.    The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey (PANYNJ) is enacting a series of interim measures at John F. Kennedy International Airport following the chaos caused at the airport during and after an early January winter storm, PANYNJ Executive Director Rick Cotton revealed Thursday.
   The interim measures, developed from working groups with participation from stakeholders at the airport, aim to address factors that contributed to issues ranging from inbound international carrier traffic, gate availability and ground equipment failures.
   The measures were devised in the wake of a Jan. 4 storm that, among other things, disabled equipment at the airport’s Terminal 1, which is shared by foreign carriers. Cargo flights and other airplanes wound up being stuck between runways for hours during the incident.
   JFK is a leading international air cargo center, with about four million square feet of office and warehouse space dedicated to cargo operations serving the NY/NJ region.
   The interim measures include that 12 hours prior to the start of any significant storm, JFK Airport will activate its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on the airport grounds.
   The EOC will operate continuously for the duration of any storm and all recovery operations, the PANYNJ said. Doing so will enable the immediate sharing of information among key stakeholders – including terminal operators and airlines – about all relevant airport operations. In addition, it will enable informed, real-time decisions about airport operations to ensure the safe and efficient functioning of the airport during a storm and during the period of recovery, it added.
   The EOC will further aim to provide an immediate, constant and consistent flow of accurate information to passengers and the public.
   Additionally, all JFK terminal operators, airlines and other key members of the airport community are being directed to commit to a “mutual aid framework” that Cotton said would enable speedy assistance from one entity to another during emergencies. This will include but not be limited to access to gates, staff, equipment and use of other facilities. All requests for mutual aid will be facilitated through the EOC.
   Regarding inbound traffic, the interim measures include a provision where during storm emergencies, when the EOC is activated, the EOC will issue on formal notifications an as-needed basis to terminal operators to manage the rate of incoming flight activity with their airline customers.
   During the recovery time after significant weather events, terminal operators are to communicate to their airline customers that unscheduled flights as a result of cancellations or diversions require advance notification to the terminal operator prior to takeoff in order for the terminal operator to confirm gate availability.
   In the absence of this confirmation, the terminal operator should instruct their airline customer not to launch the flight, according to the PANYNJ.
   Regarding gate assignment and wait times, the EOC will coordinate with terminal operators during storm emergencies to ensure that all inbound flights are assigned a gate based on the plane’s estimated on-block time no later than one hour prior to the plane’s scheduled landing.
   In any instance where the estimated on-block time is more than 90 minutes after estimated arrival time, terminal operators must consult the port authority to identify alternative compatible gate options elsewhere in the airport on a timely basis. If no compatible gates are available, the port authority and terminal operator would determine if disembarking passengers at an un-gated position and busing them to a terminal is a more suitable option.
   Cotton also announced that former U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has began an independent investigation into the causes of the various operational failures at the airport.
   “What happened at JFK, as we have emphasized over the past two weeks, was unacceptable and must not be allowed to happen again,” Cotton said. “The interim directives and protocols we are announcing today are critical initial steps to ensure improved operations in future storms.”