The PASSUR OPSnet Report 
Informing the Airport Operations Community
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New members of the PASSUR OPSnet community are always welcome
or contact Ron Dunsky at rondunsky@passur.com
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| FEBRUARY 2009 |
Dear ,
Welcome
to the February edition of The PASSUR OPSnet Report, developed for
the national community of OPSnet users. Winter weather has had a tremendous impact on airport operations this year, and we'v e put together some information on how to better deal with these disruptions.
Whether you're an airport, airline, the FAA, cargo operator, or FBO, we're all here to help improve communication and share best practices on creating a more cost effective, safe, and efficient airport operating environment.
Please let us know how we can improve this newsletter by contacting Ron Dunsky, Executive Editor at rondunsky@passur.com. |
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How Airports Can Help Prevent Lengthy On-Board Airline Delays
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Lengthy on-board delays can be a political and operational nightmare for airports, not just air carriers. Now, the Department of Transportation (DOT) is asking airports to play a more direct, proactive and central role in events where aircraft experience extended ground delays off the gate, resulting in passengers spending hours on an aircraft.
Some of the key recommendations of the report relate to communication, coordination and collaboration - all of which can be enhanced via PASSUR OPSnet. The DOT says:
"Effective communication is key to an effective response effort ... an airport should establish concise, consistent, and continuous communication with all aviation service providers...and continuously share information related to the ground delay and status of response efforts with all aviation service providers."
"The key to the success of a coordinated aviation contingency plan during a ground delay is real-time shared situational awareness among all airlines, airports, Government agencies, and other aviation service providers at that airport."
"Coordinated contingency plan procedures should include... airport-wide shared communications, including conference calls, Internet communication, Web technology, and existing databases available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, when conditions warrant the use of such means of communication."
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New York Airports See Operational Benefit from PASSUR's Snow Operation Assistance Program (SOAP)
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 In its first full winter of operation at both JFK and LGA, PASSUR's Snow Operation Assistance Program (SOAP) is proving its worth. The program adds a new dimension to existing airport and airline snow coordination programs -- providing professional services to assist in managing departure flows, deicing queues, and all around coordination during winter events -- all via PASSUR OPSnet.
Air Carriers, the FAA and the Port Authority have come to rely on PASSUR OPSnet to provide awareness of flight cancellations, field conditions, traffic flow, coordination of snow removal with deicing activity and management of departures in an efficient and equitable manner. Carriers are now accustomed to providing their planned taxi times and listing cancellations so that true departure demand can be assessed.
The PASSUR SOAP staff facilitates communication and coordination between the airport operator, FAA and Air Carriers in these areas and others -- resulting in more timely and accurate decisions being made for different aspects of the airport operation. For example, the FAA has requested and obtained reduced departures during critical arrival periods, and has been able to increase departures when conditions allowed, by working through the SOAP group.
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FAA Approved Deicing Updates, Winter 2008 - 2009
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The FAA has released its annual report on deicing/anti-icing. This includes information on approved fluids, holdover tables, and more. HOT (Holdover Time) is based on several factors, including temperature range and type of precipitation. The amount of holdover time available during an operation will have a great impact on how quickly aircraft must depart after deicing/anti-icing. The longer the holdover time, the more leeway you have with the departure queue and the less impact unplanned runway closures and peak activity will have. Returning for secondary deicing is very costly and impacts the entire deicing operation.
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Tip: Don't Get Locked out of PASSUR OPSnet - Manage Your Password!
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You have the option to provide an email address and personal security answers in the "Change Password" form so that if you ever forget your password and/or your username, you can let the PASSUR OPSnet system send you a secure e-mail reminder (for security, if it's your password that you've forgotten, the system will c reate a new one for you). You only have to enter this information once.
We highly recommend that you take a few seconds to fill in this information - it will allow you to get an instant password or user name reminder/update if you forget them. Don't get locked out of PASSUR OPSnet when you need it most - take a few seconds to fill in the form!
You can also change your password anytime, by clicking on the "Change Password" button on the main screen. Enter your current password, then the new password, and you are DONE!!
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