FAA to Hold Runway Safety Meetings at 90 Airports and Invest $121M to Reduce Close Calls

by M.C. Millman

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to hold runway safety meetings at 90 major airports, including Laguardia, through September as part of an ongoing effort to prevent close calls between aircraft. 

In March, the FAA held an emergency safety summit, as reported by Rockland Daily here to address recent incidents. The summit brought together leaders from across the aviation sector, including airlines, flight and ground crews, and air traffic control, to find potential causes and needed actions to uphold safety. 

Additionally, the FAA awarded more than $121 million to airports across the country to reduce the risk of runway incursions.

The funds will be in addition to the $100 million applied for the same cause as reported in May by Rockland Daily here. 

Eight airports will be utilizing the new funds for upgrades. Additionally, the FAA has introduced several runway safety technologies to provide pilots and controllers with increased situational awareness. 

"The FAA is serious about ending runway incursions, and we are putting substantial resources behind our efforts," Associate Administrator for Airports Shannetta Griffin, P.E., says in today's press release. "In some cases, the best way to address safety risks is modifying or reconfiguring existing airfields - these grants directly address those situations."