Caution: Big Changes Ahead

On Sep. 28, 2012, the ground began shaking at the FAA. That is when its Airports Division published AC 150/5300-13A, Airport Design.

The new AC is not simply a revision; it's a re-write of a 23-year-old design standard. And it contains many significant changes that will affect your airport, including new classifications of taxiways, changes to taxiway geometry and a greater requirement for paved shoulders. Many of us in the airport planning and design business are reeling from the far-reaching implications of the changes.

Clearly, the FAA is stone-cold serious about the safety of aircraft ground movements and reducing runway incursions. It has invested heavily in upgrading runway safety areas the past few years, and you can expect the same for taxiways connecting to runways in the next few years.

One change, in particular, deserves your full attention: It will no longer be OK to taxi an aircraft straight from a parking apron to a runway. Yes, the shortest distance between two points is still a straight line, but it is not the safest route, according to FAA officials. And they have substantial data to prove it. In the same vein, it is also no longer acceptable to have large areas of pavement where aircraft can taxi without physical separation, markings, edge lighting and guidance signs.

Here is the upshot: The next time you want to improve a taxiway or apron that is in the old, configuration, you must change it to meet the requirements in the new AC. This could cause major reconfigurations in the busiest ground movement areas of many airports. And such reconfigurations will almost certainly affect operational efficiency. Simply put, it will take aircraft longer to taxi to runways if they have to make turns. And that is exactly what the new standards require. You can find details in Chapter Four of the new AC.

This change is being tested at airports as we speak. Aviation Director Frank Miller, who fosters an industry-leading safety culture at San Antonio International Airport, has a clear understanding of how to operate an airfield efficiently. When consultants undertook improvements to taxiways surrounding the terminal apron this year, they utilized the airport's progressive safety review metrics to ensure safety was built into the concept - balanced, of course, with operations. This is obviously the best way to approach a project like this. In the end, the airport had to modify the design to satisfy strict compliance with the FAA's new rules. It is not the preferred operational layout, but it prioritizes the new taxiway safety guidelines.

Long Beach Airport in California has the benefit of having an airport director, Mario Rodriquez, who understands these issues well. You see, he used to design taxiways for a living. When planners there set out to improve the airfield, Mr. Rodriguez and his staff had the foresight to initiate a study to determine what the final configuration of the airfield should be to meet new design requirements. It can't all be done overnight, but now he has a roadmap to follow; and the airport is working closely with the FAA on the effort. Agency feedback indicates this may well be the model for addressing changes. Smart airports and their consultants will follow suit.

Do not expect the FAA to hand out "modifications to standards" or grandfather your airfield just because it has before. If you touch any airfield pavement, you should expect to fix it to the new standards. And, you should plan for a lot more interaction on this issue with your FAA Airports office than you may be used to.

Right now the ground is shaking. But when it stops, America's airports will have safer ground movements and safer runways. Let's work together to protect operational efficiencies while we modify our taxiways to fit the new FAA ideal.