By Shannon Steffke, Staff Writer Gas station coffee that’s been on the burner since three. The top of a Mountain Dew bottle twisted off in the truck on the way in. A Monster in the door of every third pickup on the property. Somebody brewed a pot at home at 3:45 and filled a thermos… Read more »
By Shannon Steffke Writer Airports live in a blinding spotlight. They move millions of people safely every year, but the moment something goes wrong the image of their quiet competence disappears. A minor runway incursion—even one that ends without damage or injury—can put a director’s name in headlines. And these days, headlines travel fast. That… Read more »
By Shannon Steffke Staff writer Ask an airport director what keeps them up at night, and the answer rarely starts with runways or regulations. More often it starts with people—or the persistent lack of them. Staffing has become one of the most pervasive and persistent challenges in airport operations today. Finding qualified personnel is difficult… Read more »
About the series: In the fast-paced AOA environment, the teams in charge of clear communication and constant situational awareness are essential to maintaining operational safety. At Alder, these workers include our professionally trained flaggers, escorts, Resident Project Representatives and barricaders, all who have a deep knowledge of runway construction and maintenance. Together, these key personnel… Read more »
By Shannon Steffke “If an aircraft can touch it, we’re responsible for it.” That’s how Airport Operations Manager and AOA Safety Consultant Sam Allen sees the importance of flaggers, barricades, RPRs, and escorts keeping grounds safe. And when construction is added to the mix? “That introduces a whole new set of risks,” Sam said. Currently… Read more »
By Lonna Whiting For airports large and small, leaders spend a lot of time prioritizing capital work, advancing strategic initiatives, and maintaining regulatory requirements. It’s a constant challenge, and anytime you bring a runway construction project into the mix, it doesn’t take long for overwhelm, deadline stress, and budget anxiety to follow. Like many airport… Read more »
By Samuel Allen, C.M., ACE Airport Operations Manager and AOA Safety Consultant In any safety-oriented company culture, frontline employees play a pivotal role and are often underappreciated. While leadership may define policies and procedures, it is the daily actions, decisions, and observations of these employees that ultimately determine whether a workplace remains safe or becomes… Read more »
By Samuel Allen, C.M., ACE Airport Operations Manager and AOA Safety Consultant In the highly regulated and safety-critical environment of aviation, human factors remain a persistent and leading contributor to incidents. Among these, attitudes of resignation pose another subtle yet serious threat to safe and efficient airport operations. FAA’s definition of resignation The FAA describes… Read more »
By Lonna Whiting, writer, Alder Airfield Services A pilot flying one of her regular routes prepares her descent onto a runway she’s navigated hundreds, maybe thousands of times before. She expects all to be clear. After all, she’s landed in that very spot time and again without incident. Then one day, the runway appears normal… Read more »
Editor’s note: At La Guardia Airport on March 22, 2026, two pilots were killed, and 43 passengers and crew were injured when the Air Canada plane operated by Jazz Aviation collided with a fire truck upon landing. Since then, safety experts have cautioned against jumping to conclusions about the causes of the incident until investigators… Read more »