Airport Business - 28

COVER STORY
DFW leaders are concerned with
runway incursions as they strive to
eliminate any instances of inadvertent
or unauthorized entry into the runway
environment. In Fiscal Year 2018, Sichko
said there were seven at the airport, so
they decided to bring all the training
efforts in-house to help address concerns.
Building on standardized FAR Part
139 training, Sichko said the airport
worked with a third-party vendor to
build a customized program for DFW.
Different areas and hotspots were
recognized and filmed.
Anyone licensed to drive within
the AOA area of DFW must undergo
DFW Airport Board-provided training.
If they pass, they're granted ramp driving
privileges.
Those licensed to operate in
movement areas of the airfield have a
more intensive six module training
curriculum, along with mandatory
simulator training and supervised
practical training on the airfield.
Sichko said in addition to all federally
required annual Part 139 training,
movement area qualified drivers must
undergo the simulator training every two
years and there are plans to increase the
frequency of practical ride checks.
"Within the last 18 months, we've
reached out to all the tenants at DFW and
said anybody who drives a vehicle inside

the fence here at DFW, including taxi
proficiency requirement, then they lose
mechanics will no longer be able to take
it completely," he said. "We don't want
individual company training," he said. people out there who occasionally go out
"They will be required to take training
and add unnecessary risk to the operation
provided by the airport."
or the airport."
TPA also certified training of airline
Tampa International Airport (TPA)
undertook a comprehensive effort into
mechanics allowed to taxi aircraft.
its movement area training program in
They're required to provide proof of
the past year. The airport overhauled
training.
its program and who can access certain
Tampa updates its training annually.
areas of the airfield, enhanced training
"Stale training, the same training
and reduced the number of people with
every year is not effective," Bouchard said.
"It's fresh every year. Some airports out
access to the airfield.
The airport also created a non- there may look back and see the last time
they updated stuff was years ago. People
movement area training program for
ground handlers and other employees in
are going to expect what they expect and
the ramp area, so they understand all the
we should expect the same of them that
signage and markings. The employees
their abilities would be stale too."
must undergo the training whenever they
DFW is taking further steps in 2021
renew their badges.
with the opening of its new Integrated
Adam Bouchard, director of
Operations Center (IOC). Part of
operations for TPA, said the airport
the new facility includes staffing to
historically relied on video training for
control entry into the movement area
movement area training. The enhanced
by employees similar to how air traffic
program includes classroom training and
control coordinates aircraft.
different levels of endorsement for the
DFW has an RFP issued looking for
in-vehicle runway incursion warning
movement area. Those with the most
technology for operators combined with
access have to undergo more than 40
hours of training to ensure proficiency.
the ability to track vehicles inside the
"Those who have access but may not
movement area. That information will
be there all the time have to maintain
be live streamed into the IOC so they
a certain level of driving both daytime
can see any vehicles coming from a nonand nighttime out on the airfield and
movement area and dispatch resources
if they inadvertently enter a ramp area.
if they're not able to maintain the
This will help prevent runway incursions
or a surface incident.
Employees with airside
"When our IOC opens, no one
driving privileges a
is
going
to be in the movement area
Dallas Fort Worth
without first talking to DFW airfield
International Airport
operations" Sichko said. "We're going to
must undergo
track them with vehicle tracking, we're
simulator training
going
to know where they are, we're
as part of their
going
to
know their call signs and we're
requirements.
going to implement those procedures to
DALLAS FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL
further protect the runway environment."
AIRPORT

DFW enhanced snow and
ice removal operations
after several severe winter
storms in the past 10 years.
DALLAS FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

28 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / APRIL 2020
Airport Business

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