Airport Emergency Plan Review: What Part 139 Airports Should Revisit Each Year

An Airport Emergency Plan can become outdated even when the document itself has not changed. Personnel rotate, mutual aid partners reorganize, tenants change, facilities evolve and operational assumptions drift over time.

For certificated airports subject to 14 CFR Part 139, the Airport Emergency Plan is a core preparedness document. An annual review should confirm that the plan remains current and that the organizations with responsibilities under it remain familiar with their roles.

What should an annual AEP review examine?

1. Roles and responsibilities

Confirm that airport departments, public safety partners, tenants and supporting agencies understand their current responsibilities. Organizational changes should be reflected in both the plan and training.

2. Notification and contact information

Validate phone numbers, duty contacts, dispatch procedures, call-down lists and escalation pathways. Contact information is among the easiest elements to become outdated and among the most disruptive when wrong.

3. Mutual aid and external coordination

Review how the airport coordinates with fire, EMS, law enforcement, hospitals, emergency management agencies, public works, transportation partners and other external organizations.

4. Airport facilities and access

Check staging areas, emergency access routes, gates, rendezvous points, family assistance locations, media areas and other locations identified in the plan. Construction or operational changes can make previously sound assumptions obsolete.

5. EOC and command coordination

Review how airport leadership, the incident command structure and the EOC or coordination center will exchange information and support decisions during an emergency.

6. Training and familiarization

Personnel with AEP responsibilities should understand their assignments. Review whether new staff have been trained and whether experienced personnel need refresher training because procedures or roles have changed.

7. Exercise findings and corrective actions

Use exercise and incident findings to update the plan. A recurring issue in an after-action report should not remain disconnected from the procedure that governs the same activity.

AEP review should be operational, not administrative

The annual review is most valuable when the airport uses it to confirm that the plan still reflects how people will actually respond. That may require discussion with stakeholders, functional validation and targeted training—not simply editing names and dates.

HSS supports airports through aviation emergency management consulting, training and exercises, and preparedness workshops designed around airport operations.