April 20, 2012

 

Improvements to Friedman Memorial Airport (FMA) - The FAA has told us that FMA has design deficiencies that, if not remedied, could result in the reduction or elimination of air service. As such, the FMAA has instructed airport staff to work with the FAA to explore what fixes can be done to the existing airport. This exploration will likely take the form of an Airport Layout Plan (ALP) planning process.

 

New Updates:

• In the April 2 meeting with the FAA, we were informed they want to wait for the results of the Safety Risk Management (SRM) Panel as they believe the outcome will guide the next steps regarding improvements to FMA. The SRM panel will evaluate within the Safety Management System (SMS) review if the recently submitted Change Proposal presents any risk to the National Aerospace System.   If risk is associated with the change, they will determine what mitigation is necessary.
• The SRM Panel is scheduled to meet the week of April 23 and will include representatives from FMA, the FAA, Atlantic Aviation, Horizon Air, Skywest Airlines and Serco, the company that runs the air traffic control tower.
• When asked about an ALP update, the FAA indicated that the SMS would determine specific areas that needed to be studied but they were not opposed to FMAA moving forward with the initial scoping of an ALP update

 

Pursuit of a replacement airport - A replacement airport is likely the best long-term solution for this community.  Critical components in the replacement airport process would include the evaluation of operational feasibility, identifying additional or new funding sources, locating a feasible site, and building community support.

 

New Updates:

• In the April 2 meeting with the FAA, we were informed they want to wait for the results of the Safety Risk Management (SRM) Panel as they believe the outcome will guide the next steps regarding the pursuit of a replacement airport. The SRM panel will evaluate within the Safety Management System (SMS) review if the recently submitted Change Proposal presents any risk to the National Aerospace System.   If risk is associated with the change, they will determine what mitigation is necessary.
• The SRM Panel is scheduled to meet the week of April 23 and will include representatives from FMA, the FAA, Atlantic Aviation, Horizon Air, Skywest Airlines and Serco, the company that runs the air traffic control tower.
• When asked about restarting the Environment Impact Study, the FAA did not push back nor express an urgency to move forward. They simply reiterated their desire to wait for the results of the SRM Panel.

 

 

Regional Jets at Friedman Memorial Airport - FMA recently submitted a Change Proposal to the FAA that asks if the Letter of Agreement (LOA) between the airport and the airport control tower can be modified to include Regional Jet type aircraft (RJs).

 

New Updates:

• The SRM panel will evaluate within the Safety Management System (SMS) review if the recently submitted Change Proposal presents any risk to the National Aerospace System.   If risk is associated with the change, they will determine what mitigation is necessary.
• The SRM Panel is scheduled to meet the week of April 23 and will include representatives from FMA, the FAA, Atlantic Aviation, Horizon Air, Skywest Airlines and Serco, the company that runs the air traffic control tower.

 

 

Previous Updates:

• The FAA has taken control and possession of the Change Proposal and incorporated additional questions to be assessed in the Safety Management System (SMS) review. Specifically, in addition to the FMAA's question about including commercial Regional Jet type aircraft in the LOA, the FAA has included all General Aviation (non-commercial) Approach Category C aircraft. The current LOA does not include General Aviation aircraft.
• We have previously articulated that an unintended consequence could be that other airfield procedures will be scrutinized in the SMS review. The decision of the FAA to take control and possession of the Change Proposal increases the likelihood of such scrutiny.
• The FAA also articulated that the SMS review should determine the number of RJ operations per year that the airport control tower can handle without severely affecting the capacity of the airfield. They believe this will help FMAA understand when we may outgrow the existing site.

 

General

 

New Updates: None