Ensuring the health, safety, and security of the travelling public and airport workers is always an airport’s top priority. As such, North American airports responded quickly to help contain the spread of COVID-19. Airports continue to take aggressive steps to protect everyone traveling through their facilities and their employees. >>

Introduction

As governments and industries around the world begin to develop guidelines for the recovery and resumption of air service following the COVID-19 pandemic, they are considering an array of new measures for implementation at airports. As key stakeholders, North American airports should provide input, guidance, and leadership in developing measures that help to ensure consistency. ACI-NA committees are discussing ideas for short and long term recovery recommendations relevant to their missions. In order to ensure coordination and collaboration among these various committees, ACI-NA established a Airport Industry Recovery Advisory Panel.

During the initial response to the public health crisis, ACI-NA provided information to its membership about government and stakeholder activities. ACI-NA also provided opportunities for airports to share critical information and innovative practices directly with each other. For the recovery effort, ACI-NA endeavors to provide the same level of coordination and communication. A cross-committee ACI-NA advisory panel including both airport and WBP/Associate members will help ensure that ideas from all perspectives are considered and that there is consistency in communications.

Mission Statement

The ACI-NA Airport Industry Recovery Advisory Panel (“Advisory Panel”) will support ACI-NA standing committees as the committees develop recommended plans, processes, procedures, and infrastructure investments to address the public health concerns associated with airport operations during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Advisory Panel will see that committee recommendations keep the health and welfare of both the traveling public and airport workforces as top priorities. The panel will also provide a forum in which COVID-19 response principles, guidance, and recommendations can be reviewed and harmonized among committees before being communicated externally

The Advisory Panel will consist of representatives from ACI-NA committees described later in this document. The broad experience of the panel members will help ensure that the collective wisdom of ACI-NA is harnessed to effectively respond to one of the most critical events in aviation history.

Responsibilities

The Advisory Panel will help ACI-NA as an organization agree upon basic principles for recovery to guide ACI-NA committee recommendations, as well as distinguish the areas for which airports are primarily responsible as well as those in which airports should guide policies but do not necessarily have direct responsibility. The panel will also help ACI-NA leadership identify developing recovery needs of airports and World Business Partners (WBP)/Associates for ACI-NA leadership, for both short term and long term efforts.

The Advisory Panel will include representation and viewpoints from across the spectrum of ACI-NA’s membership, including all hub sizes, American and Canadian perspectives, other geographic and demographic specific concerns, and the WBP/Associates.

Communications

The Advisory Panel will provide advice on both internal communications (ACI-NA committees, ACI-NA airports, WBP/Associates) and external communications (media, stakeholders, traveling public).

Stakeholder Engagement
The Advisory Panel will not take an active part in stakeholder engagement but will make recommendations as to communication and messaging to and with stakeholders including:

• Government agencies
• International airport community
• North American airport community
• Aviation industry
• Aviation workforce
• Manufacturing industry
• Travel and Tourism industry
• Desired Outcomes/Outputs

The immediate focus of the Advisory Panel will be collaboration between ACI-NA committees on common principles to guide their focus-area specific recommendations and communications with stakeholders.

The Advisory Panel’s primary mission will be to provide committees a strategic and holistic communications framework for recovery efforts. Panel members will also present ACI-NA leadership and membership comprehensive updates of committee work.

If asked, the Advisory Panel may also provide common terminology (such as phases of recovery) across ACI-NA committees.

The Advisory Panel will determine whether it would be helpful to produce deliverables such as an ACI-NA guidebook with options and alternatives for airports to consider.

The Advisory Panel will also determine whether it is advisable to establish long term focus groups on common airport and WBP/Associate needs.

The Advisory Panel should be flexible in scope and focus to respond to unexpected issues that will undoubtedly arise.

Membership

The Advisory Panel will consist of representatives from the WBP/Associates Board, as well as the ACI-NA standing committees listed below and representatives from the CAC. Committee Secretaries, working with their Committee leadership teams, will nominate up to two members of their committee to serve on the panel.

• Air Service
• Business Information Technology
• Commercial Management
• Environmental Affairs
• Facilitation
• Finance
• Government and Political Affairs
• Human Resources
• Legal Affairs
• Marketing, Communications & Customer Experience
• Operations & Technical Affairs
• Public Safety & Security
• Risk Management

The Advisory Panel will chose its own chair and vice chair. The Advisory Panel will report to the U.S. and Canadian Policy Committees through ACI-NA’s Executive Vice President Matt Cornelius.

Meetings

The Advisory Panel will meet via conference call once a week and twice a month after the level of scheduled service in North America begins to increase, and government travel restrictions have eased.

Timeframe

The Advisory Panel will be established the week of April 27, 2020 as a temporary ACI-NA panel and serve as long as there is need for an active panel to help develop and guide recovery efforts.

Resources

AmyClaire Brusch will serve as Advisory Panel facilitator to help promote communication among committees, ACI-NA leadership and the Advisory Panel. AmyClaire will also be responsible for the panel schedule, providing background information and resources prior to meetings; and providing updates to ACI-NA leadership about Advisory Panel progress.