AN ASSESSMENT FOR INCREASING COMMUNITY NATURAL DISASTER RESILIENCY THROUGH THE
AIRPORT’S ROLE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS
By
Joshua Vertalka

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
MASTER OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING
Urban and Regional Planning
2012

ABSTRACT
AN ASSESSMENT FOR INCREASING COMMUNITY NATURAL DISASTER RESILIENCY THROUGH THE
AIRPORT’S ROLE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER NATURAL HAZARDS AND DISASTERS
By
Joshua Vertalka
Airports today are serving multiple functions including: passenger enplanement, cargo
operations, and military flights. The operations of such functions are hyper-sensitive to an
airport’s ability to maintain a state of operational normalcy, of which is dependent on an
airport’s potential to not become disrupted from external forces. One example of an airport
experiencing external disruptions that decrease operational function includes severe
weather events. These disruptive weather events can range from fog and snowfall to
tornadoes and hurricanes. Therefore, before, during, and after the time of a disruptive
weather event, the airport has the potential to become operationally paralyzed. When such
paralysis ensues, it could alter the role of the airport before, during and after a disaster.
Despite numerous research pieces being focused on airports’ in-flight operational status
during normal and adverse weather conditions very little has been discussed about airports’
operational role before, during, or after a severe weather event. Research needs to be
focused on what the airport’s role is before, during, and after a disaster and how that role
can be internally and externally strengthened by adapting its operational procedures and
infrastructure components from the effects of extreme weather conditions by establishing a
grounded theory of airport resiliency or lack thereof.

Copyright by
JOSHUA VERTALKA
2012

Dedication to
My Father, Late Mr. Randy Vertalka
My family, Mrs. Terri Vertalka-Good, Mrs. Alaina Vertalka-Maidens, and Ms. Alexis Vertalka
My Family and Friends
______________________________________________________________________________

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I cannot begin to express the joy of writing this portion of my thesis but I will try with
eternal gratitude. When looking back at the entire process, I think I may have learned more
about myself than the actual subject, not to say I have not learned about the subject or the
processes of research. So, for that, I am also forever grateful. I would like to use the following
space to provide a more personal thank you.
To my mother, Terri Vertalka-Good, I thank you for your support in all of my life
decisions. Without, it would have been a long and painful ordeal. To my two sisters, Alaina and
Alexis Vertalka, I cannot even begin to thank you for numerous memories of laughter you
bought me when times were difficult.
Next, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Eva Kassens-Noor. I cannot image the
frustrations you have gone through while reading some of my drafts or me missing deadlines
and for that I am sorry. More thankfully though, I am glad you let me explore the subject as I
felt fit. It is through this exploration that I discovered a lot about the subject and how and what
I want to research. Thank You!
To Dr. Mark Wilson, thank you for encouraging me to study abroad in Asia. It was one of
the best things I have done in my life and will never forget it. You have now given me the
traveling bug virus, thank you.
Next, I would like to thank other members of my graduate committee of Dr. Rene
Hinojosa and Dr. Lifeng Luo. The knowledge each of you holds is highly respected by me. More
importantly is how you express that knowledge with me. Weather it is the excitement in Dr.

v

Hinojosa’s intriguing questions and ideas about my methodology or Dr. Luo’s joy of describing
extreme weather events. I thank you all for sharing your exciting knowledge.
My dearest friends, the joys and pitfalls we have shared together in the last few years
will never be forgotten. Whether it is in the lab goofing off in the attempt to forget the amount
of work to be completed, an approaching thesis deadline, or going to football games and eating
wings; a special thank you Andy LeMarbe, Ankur Desai, Ali Lahouti, Federico Steinvorth, Lulu Shi,
and Huijing Geng.
To my study abroad peeps and especially Eric Philips and Andrew Baglini, thank you for
such a great adventure. I can’t image Asia without you guys.
Finally, thanks to all the colleagues who made my experience at Michigan State
University enjoyable and memorable. Our interactions and adventures will always be in my
heart and memories; especially Pat Daughenbaugh, Valerie Geyer, and Robin Rennie for the
delicious chocolate and wonderful conversations.
Once Again,
Thank you
Danke
Kamsahamnida
Dhanyawaad
Xie xie
Gracias
Sapas

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................ xi
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................................ xiii
Chapter-1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Need Statement .................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 3
1.4 Research Goals and Methods................................................................................................ 5
1.5 Research Benefits and Contributions .................................................................................... 6
1.6 Chapter Summary.................................................................................................................. 7
1.7 Research Outline ................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter-2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................................... 11
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 12
2.2 Defining Risk ........................................................................................................................ 12
2.2.1 Vulnerability ................................................................................................................. 13
2.2.2 Hazard Exposure ........................................................................................................... 15
2.2.3 Adaptation .................................................................................................................... 16
2.2.4 Resiliency ...................................................................................................................... 18
2.3 Defining Disasters ................................................................................................................ 19
2.3.1 Tornadoes ..................................................................................................................... 19
2.3.2 Blizzards ........................................................................................................................ 23
2.3.3 Hurricanes..................................................................................................................... 24
2.4 Increase in Disaster Costs .................................................................................................... 29
2.5 Airline Regulation, Airports, and Definitions ...................................................................... 30
2.5.1 Airports Introduction .................................................................................................... 30
2.5.2 Classes of Airports ........................................................................................................ 31
2.5.3 Commercial Aviation Airports ...................................................................................... 32
2.5.4 General Aviation Airports ............................................................................................. 33
2.6 Aviation Fragility from Hazards and Countermeasures ...................................................... 33
2.6.1 National Response Plan ................................................................................................ 35
2.6.2 Transportation Security Administration Authority in Decreasing Hazard Fragility...... 36
2.6.3 Federal Emergency Management Agency in Decreasing Hazard Fragility ................... 38
2.6.4 Federal Aviation Administration’s Role in Disaster Prevention ................................... 39
2.6.5 Other Agencies Responses to Disaster ......................................................................... 40
2.7 Defining Critical Infrastructure ............................................................................................ 41
2.7.1 Geographically Critical Infrastructure .......................................................................... 41
2.7.2 Technologically Critical Infrastructure.......................................................................... 43
2.8 Critical Infrastructure of Airports ........................................................................................ 43
2.9 Disaster Shelters and the Airport ........................................................................................ 44
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2.10 Chapter Summary.............................................................................................................. 47
Chapter-3 Methods ....................................................................................................................... 48
3.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 49
3.2 Theoretical Background on Qualitative Data and Grounded Theory ................................. 49
3.3 Bartlett and Payne’s Method for Grounded Theory ........................................................... 50
3.4 Collecting Data through Interviews .................................................................................... 52
3.4.1 Determining Research Profile ....................................................................................... 52
3.4.2 Determining Research Participants .............................................................................. 53
3.4.3 Determining Questions for Research Participants ....................................................... 55
3.5 Saturating Data from Research Participants ....................................................................... 56
3.5.1 Open Coding and Data Saturation Procedure .............................................................. 57
3.6 Axial Coding from Saturated Categories ............................................................................. 58
3.6.1 Defining Categories through Revised Code and Identifying Meaning ......................... 59
3.6.2 Theoretical Sampling .................................................................................................... 60
3.6.2 Axial Coding the Dataset .............................................................................................. 61
3.7 Pre – Grounded Theory Analyzes ........................................................................................ 62
3.8 Grounding the Theory ......................................................................................................... 62
3.8.1 Theoretical Integration from the Axial Coding ............................................................. 63
3.8.2 Grounded Theory Data Analyses .................................................................................. 64
3.9 Research Rationale .............................................................................................................. 64
3.10 Limitations to the Methodology ....................................................................................... 65
3.11 Chapter Summary.............................................................................................................. 65
Chapter-4 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................... 67
4.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................... 68
4.2 Pre-Grounded Theory Analysis Results ............................................................................... 68
4.2 Research Participant Profile ................................................................................................ 69
4.3 Transcribing the Interviews ................................................................................................. 71
4.4 Developing Open Coded Categories ................................................................................... 71
4.5 Saturated Data .................................................................................................................... 73
4.6 Revised Codes and Axial Coding .......................................................................................... 79
4.7 Theoretical Integration on the Role of the Airport using Axial Coding ............................... 86
4.7.1 The Airport’s Relationship with the Community in Hazardous or Disastrous Events .. 86
4.7.2 Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport for Evacuation .............................. 90
4.7.3 Research Participant’s perspective on the Airport as a Shelter ................................... 93
4.7.4 Research Participant’s Perspective of the Airport as a Staging Area Following the
Hazard .................................................................................................................................... 95
4.7.5 Research Participant’s Perspective of the Airport’s Critical Infrastructure ................. 98
4.7.6 Research Participant’s Overall Perspective on the Airport ........................................ 102
4.8 Government Agencies Role Airport Operations ............................................................... 106
4.8 Views of the Airport’s Role based on the Perspectives of Consultants, Airport Officials,
and Government Officials ....................................................................................................... 108
4.9 Grounded Theory Generation ........................................................................................... 111
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4.10 Chapter Summary............................................................................................................ 115
Chapter-5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 116
5.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 117
5.2 The Airport’s Role Before, During, and After a Hazard or Disaster .................................. 118
5.2.1 The Airport’s Current Role Before a Hazard or Disaster ............................................ 118
5.2.2 The Airport’s Current Role During a Hazard or Disaster ............................................ 119
5.2.3 The Airport’s Current Role After a Hazard or Disaster ............................................... 119
5.3 Adaptation Avenues for Airports ...................................................................................... 120
5.3.1 Adaptation when a Hazard Approaches ..................................................................... 120
5.3.2 Adaptation during a Disaster ...................................................................................... 122
5.3.3 Adaptation after the Occurrence of a Hazard or Disaster.......................................... 123
5.4 Affiliations with the Airport .............................................................................................. 124
5.4.1 Federal Emergency Management Agency and Airport Operation Groups ................ 125
5.4.2 State and Local Government ...................................................................................... 126
5.4.3 Airline Companies ....................................................................................................... 126
5.5 Local Government Affiliation Logistics with Airports........................................................ 127
5.5.1 Recovery Logistics ....................................................................................................... 127
5.5.2 Evacuation Logistics .................................................................................................... 130
5.5.3 Infrastructure Reuse ................................................................................................... 131
5.5.4 Airport Shelters........................................................................................................... 132
5.6 Adapting Different Types of Airports ................................................................................ 133
5.6.1 Different Classes of Airports ....................................................................................... 133
5.6.2 General Aviation Adaptation ...................................................................................... 134
5.6.3 Commercial Aviation Adaptation ............................................................................... 135
5.7 Creating adaptation: A Step-by-Step Approach ................................................................ 136
5.8 Limitations ......................................................................................................................... 140
5.9 Chapter Summary.............................................................................................................. 141
Chapter-6 CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................. 142
6.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................... 143
6.2 Research Benefits .............................................................................................................. 143
6.3 Planning Lessons ............................................................................................................... 143
6.4 Transitioning Mindsets to View Infrastructure Multilaterally .......................................... 145
6.5 Adaptation Measures ........................................................................................................ 146
6.6 Future Areas of Research .................................................................................................. 149
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................ 150
Appendix A - Interview Participant Consent Form.................................................................. 151
Appendix B – Code Book ......................................................................................................... 153
Appendix C - Coded Interview for 1 ........................................................................................ 158
Appendix D - Coded Interview for 7 ........................................................................................ 172
Appendix E - Coded Interview for 11 ...................................................................................... 183
Appendix F - Coded Interview for 4 ........................................................................................ 193
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Appendix G - Coded Interview for 4 ........................................................................................ 206
Appendix H - Coded Interview for 6 ........................................................................................ 217
Appendix I – Coded Interview for 9 ........................................................................................ 228
Appendix J – Coded Interview for 10 ...................................................................................... 237
Appendix K – Coded Interview for 2 ....................................................................................... 253
Appendix L – Coded Interview for 8 ........................................................................................ 262
Appendix M - Coded Interview for 4 ....................................................................................... 273
Appendix N – Coded Interview for 12 ..................................................................................... 284
Appendix O – Coded Data Input.............................................................................................. 297
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................ 336

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 – A Matrix of Adaptation Approaches .......................................................................... 17
Table 2.2 – Well Known Hurricanes .............................................................................................. 29
Table 3.1 – Research Participant Profile ....................................................................................... 54
Table 3.2 – The “Is” Questions ...................................................................................................... 55
Table 3.3 – The “Should” Questions ............................................................................................. 55
Table 4.1 – Research Participant Profile ....................................................................................... 69
Table 4.2 – Open Coded Categories.............................................................................................. 72
Table 4.3 – Open Coded Categories for the Current Role of the Airport ..................................... 72
Table 4.4 – Open Coded Categories what needs to be the Role of the Airport ........................... 72
Table 4.5 – Revised Coded Categories for Research Participants ................................................ 80
Table 4.6 – Initial Interviews with Revised Code (Axial Code Group 1) ........................................ 83
Table 4.7 – Second Set of Interviews with Revised Code (Axial Code Group 2) ........................... 84
Table 4.8 – Last Set of Interviews with Revised Code (Axial Code Group 3) ................................ 85
Table 4.9 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport and Community Relationship in
Times of Hazards or Disasters ....................................................................................................... 87
Table 4.10 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport and Community Relationship
Before, During, and After Hazards or Disasters ............................................................................ 88
Table 4.11 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport for Evacuation .......................... 91
Table 4.12 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport for Evacuation Before, During,
and After a Hazard or Disaster ...................................................................................................... 92
Table 4.13 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport as a Shelter .............................. 93
Table 4.14 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport as a Shelter Before, During, and
After a Hazard or Disaster ............................................................................................................. 94
Table 4.15 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport as a Staging Area Following the
Hazard ........................................................................................................................................... 96

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Table 4.16 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport as a Staging Area Before, During,
and After a Hazard or Disaster ...................................................................................................... 97
Table 4.17 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport’s Critical Infrastructure .......... 100
Table 4.18 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport’s Critical Infrastructure Before,
During, and After a Hazard or Disaster ....................................................................................... 101
Table 4.19 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport’s Operations ........................... 103
Table 4.20 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport’s Operations Before, During, and
After a Hazard or Disaster ........................................................................................................... 104
Table 4.21 – Research Participant’s Perspective on Government Agencies in times of Hazards
and Disasters ............................................................................................................................... 107
Table 4.22 – Consultant’s Perspective on the Role of the Airport ............................................. 109
Table 4.23 – Airport Official’s Perspective on the Role of the Airport ....................................... 110
Table 4.24 – Government Official’s Perspective on the Role of the Airport .............................. 111
Table 6.1 – Adaptation Measures for Airport Officials ............................................................... 147
Table 6.2 – Possible Adaptations for Different Classes of Airports ............................................ 148
Table A.1 – Question 1 Key ......................................................................................................... 315
Table A.2 – Question 2 Key ......................................................................................................... 317
Table A.3 – Question 3 Key ......................................................................................................... 319
Table A.4 – Question 4 Key ......................................................................................................... 321
Table A.5 – Question 5 Key ......................................................................................................... 323
Table A.6 – Question 6 Key ......................................................................................................... 325
Table A.7 – Question 7 Key ......................................................................................................... 327
Table A.8 – Question 8 Key ......................................................................................................... 329
Table A.14 – Statistical Output of Consultants’ versus Airport Officials’ Responses ................. 334
Table A.15 – Statistical Output of Government Officials’ versus Airport Officials’ Responses .. 335

xii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 – Tornado Alley ............................................................................................................ 20
Figure 2.2 – Average Tornadoes per Year per State ..................................................................... 21
Figure 2.3 – Tornado Totals in the United States from 1950 - 2008 ............................................ 22
Figure 2.4 Hurricane Points of Origin from 1944 – 2010 .............................................................. 25
Figure 2.5 – Global Hurricane Tracks from 1855 – 2005 .............................................................. 26
Figure 2.6 – Northern Hook Course for Hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere ....................... 26
Figure 2.7 – Southern Hook Course for Hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere ....................... 27
Figure 2.8 – Network Centrality Concept ..................................................................................... 42
Figure 3.1 – Qualitative Data Analysis Procedure ........................................................................ 51
Figure 3.2 – The Iterative Process of Data Saturation .................................................................. 58
Figure 3.3 – The Iterative Process of Theoretical Samples ........................................................... 59
Figure 3.4 – The Iterative Process of Grounded Theory ............................................................... 63
Figure 4.1 – Saturated Code Book ................................................................................................ 74
Figure 5.1 – The Infrastructural Relationship between the Airport and Community ................ 128
Figure 5.2 – Airport and Community Disconnect from Failed Infrastructure ............................ 129
Figure 5.3 – Airport and Community Disconnect from Non-Airport Recovery Supplies ............ 130
Figure A.1 – Total Response for each Code ................................................................................ 313
Figure A.2 – Total Responses for Question 1 .............................................................................. 316
Figure A.3 – Total Responses for Question 2 .............................................................................. 318
Figure A.4 – Total Responses for Question 3 .............................................................................. 320
Figure A.5 – Total Responses for Question 4 .............................................................................. 322
Figure A.6 – Total Responses for Question 5 .............................................................................. 324
Figure A.7 – Total Responses for Question 6 .............................................................................. 326

xiii

Figure A.8 – Total Responses for Question 7 .............................................................................. 328
Figure A.9 – Total Responses for Question 8 .............................................................................. 329
Figure A.10 – The Airport’s Role in Community Response ........................................................ 331
Figure A.11 – Average Response per Consultant ....................................................................... 332
Figure A.14 – Average Response Differences between Government Officials’ and Airport
Officials’....................................................................................................................................... 333
Figure A.15 – Average Response Differences between Consultants’ Vs. Airport Officials’
Responses ................................................................................................................................... 334
Figure A.16 – Average Response Differences between Government Officials’ versus Airport
Officials’ Responses .................................................................................................................... 335

xiv

Chapter-1
INTRODUCTION

1

“Mr. Speaker, from hurricanes and floods in Latin America to earthquakes in Asia, natural
disasters are increasingly becoming a regular feature of life for large numbers of people around
the globe.”
– Earl Blaumenaur
“There are two big forces at work, external and internal. We have very little control over
external forces such as tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, disaster, illness and pain. What really
matters is the internal force. How do I respond to those disasters? Over that I have control.”
– Leo F. Buscaglia
1.1 Introduction
Airports today are serving various functions including: passenger, cargo, and military
flights and, in brief adverse weather conditions, a shelter. Despite numerous research pieces
being focused on airport’s operational flight status during normal and adverse weather
conditions very little has been discussed about airports’ infrastructure and operational status
before, during and after adverse weather conditions. Therefore, research needs to be focused
on the categories and status of airports infrastructure and operations when confronted with
extreme hazardous weather conditions.
Many of today’s airports are concerned with time and cost efficiency during normal
weather conditions. Likewise, airports spend a great deal of time advancing their infrastructure
components to increase their logistical efficiency. Here, airports are taking for granted that
their infrastructure will withstand the effects of natural hazards. To further clarify, airports are
updating their infrastructure to increase on-time performance of airliners while ignoring
operational infrastructure status during extreme hazards and disasters. By recognizing the
potential for airports to identify and adapt their infrastructure for disaster operation, they

2

could provide long-term shelter during a disaster and crucial supplies after a disaster, allowing
numerous lives to be saved.
1.2 Need Statement
When researching airports’ infrastructure and operational vulnerabilities to hazards, this
paper needs to explore how airports prepare their infrastructure and operations that protect
themselves from hazardous events. By exploring the aforementioned, recommendations can be
made to further protect and enhance the responsibility of airport infrastructure so that airports
can provide additional roles that mitigate the onset and negative consequences of a disaster.
Therefore, by further protecting the infrastructure, airports could become operational more
quickly after the hazard, potentially leading to an increase in fundamental recovery supplies,
such as food, water, medicine, and building materials. Additionally, protecting pieces of
infrastructure may prelude the airport to act as a shelter and as a conduit for relief and
recovery supplies, consequently saving lives. This scenario would be most beneficial when
airports encounter extreme natural long-term hazards.
1.3 Research Questions
Natural disasters are disruptive hazards that have the potential to last several days.
During this tenure, natural disasters can produce adverse environments, such as strong winds
and torrential rainfall. These ill-effects can quickly deteriorate infrastructure’s stability
rendering expensive physical damage, potentially resulting in human loss. Emergency managers
attempt to prevent human loss by evacuating an area or by providing shelters. However, due to
the long duration and extreme conditions produced by such hazards, physical damage to

3

community infrastructure is often the recipient. Therefore, how can airports be adapted to
better create a more resilient airport and community?
When natural disasters encounter airports, there is a potential occurrence for
infrastructural damage and the loss of human life. As previously mentioned, natural disasters
have the possibility to shut down flight operations. During this period of closure, airports may
have the potential to be converted from a transportation node to a community shelter. This is
often the case during brief closure periods, such as blizzard conditions, when airports
temporarily house delayed passengers. However, during longer meteorological events, such as
hurricanes it is unknown how effective airports can respond to that hazard as a shelter. This
process is similar to residents seeking refuge in sporting venues and convention centers, as was
the case in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina (Pampel, 2008); only in this case, residents at
nearby airports can seek asylum within the airport terminal. This asylum would clearly benefit
residents who have structurally weak housing or are vulnerable to flooding. Therefore, can an
airport shelter nearby community members that are vulnerable to the effects of hurricane?
Thereby increasing community resiliency before, during, or after a hazard or disaster?
If residents near an airport can seek refuge in an airport’s terminal, it could have
numerous benefits for nearby residents and disaster management officials, such as lessening
the evacuation traffic surge. Evacuation traffic surge could produces grid-lock highways and
chaotic public transportation routes. Therefore, if residents residing near an airport can utilize
that airport as a shelter, then outbound city traffic should be less congested resulting in a
quicker and less expensive evacuation. Likewise, if adaptation policies are effectively enacted,

4

then airports can become a hub for recovery operations after a hazard passes. Additionally, if
the airport could assist in the evacuation process it could lessen the traffic demand of the
evacuation process. Therefore, does the airport have a role in the evacuation processes of a
community before, during, or after a hazard or disaster?
Having the logistical means and variety of large cargo operations, ideally formulates the
airport as a suitable recovery agent. After a hazard strikes, damage may have ensued on nearby
communities, resulting in needed relief supplies. Airports are an ideal candidate to transport
relief supplies from national sources. Protecting the infrastructure that assists in cargo
operations will be vital to quick urban recovery. If the infrastructure that is necessary for cargo
operations is not resilient to the effects of hazards, such as hurricanes and blizzards then
community recovery will become more expensive in both time and finance. Therefore, how and
what airport infrastructure can become more resilient to extreme hazards for disaster recovery
before, during, or after a hazard or disaster?
1.4 Research Goals and Methods
This research encompasses a wide variety of adaption mechanisms, ideas, and
recommendations for airports and communities. The goal of this research is to establish a
grounded theory for avenues of airport adaptation to extreme natural hazards to create airport
and community resiliency. This is accomplished by first, constructing an extensive literature
review then recording expert opinions about what the airports’ role is and should be before,
during, and after a disaster. Therefore, this research produced results that:
1. Identify the airport’s role before, during, and after a hazard or disaster
5

2. Identify characteristics of airports that provide the greatest avenues for adaptability to
increase its and the communities extreme long term disaster resiliency.
3. Identify airport issues that arise when airports are actively involved in hazard or disaster
scenarios.
4. Identify community issues that arise when airports are actively involved in hazard or
disaster scenarios.
5. Identify the ability of the airport to act as a sheltering devise for vulnerable people.
6. Identify the ability of the airport to act as a tool for evacuations before, during, and after
a hazard or disaster.
7. Identify the infrastructure necessary for the airport to be more resilient.
8. Generate recommendations on avenues for airport adaptation, which are most viable
for the airport and community to achieve better extreme long term natural disaster
resiliency.
1.5 Research Benefits and Contributions
The benefits presented in this research are to provide information on the likelihood of
extreme weather adaptation on airports. This information entails identifying problems and
avenues of adaptation for airports that will either formulate a more successful or less successful
airport and community during an extreme weather hazard. By gathering and formulating the
previous benefits, a grounded theory can be created as to which avenues of adaptation are
likely to increase airports and communities resiliency to extreme weather hazards.
6

1.6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 1 provides an understanding about the need for adaptation planning for
airports. It includes information on how questions regarding the need for adaptation planning
will be answered through qualitative methods. By executing such methods, suitable adaptation
mechanisms can be identified and fitted for airports and communities to increase their
resiliency to negative effects of natural disaster. Succeeding chapters further describe this
research paper.
1.7 Research Outline
Chapter 2 provides definitions about key concepts of the research including: risk,
vulnerability, hazard exposure, critical infrastructure, and shelters of airports. It is reported that
risk of a particular system involves identifying its hazard exposure and vulnerability. To combat
risk, a concept of adaptation is presented. This concept focuses on increasing the coping
capacity of a system so that when confronted with a hazard, it does not transform into a
disaster. By channeling adaptation concepts towards critical infrastructure of a system, coping
capacity can increase, thereby decreasing the likelihood of a disastrous outcome. If a disaster
outcome does occur, this chapter discusses federal agencies’ roles in disaster prevention and
recovery but all fail to significantly mention airports within their framework. Therefore,
information needs to be assembled for understanding the adaption extent and likelihood that
airports can handle the before, during and after effects of hazards and disasters. This can be
accomplished through an extensive methodology that is based on the previously stated
concepts of risk and resiliency.

7

Chapter 3 provides a framework for executing the research. It states that the research is
conducted by first determining how airports are vulnerable to hurricane hazards. Research
participants were selected based on their employment sector: government, airport, or
consultant and their exposure to hurricanes, blizzards, or tornadoes. Once determined, a
grounded theory was constructed. The grounded theory was produced using Bartlett and
Payne’s (1997) approach for analyzing qualitative data to formulate a theoretical grounding.
These authors suggest that the researcher use the following proceeding steps:
1. Collecting the data through interviews
2. Transcribe the data
3. Develop open coding categories
4. Saturate the categories
5. Defining categories
6. Theoretical sampling
7. Axial coding
8. Theoretical integration
9. Grounding the theory
Questions for the selected research participants involved two types of questions: “is”
and “should” questions in a semi-structured, counterpoised interview process. The “is”
questions provide information on the current role of the airport. The “should” questions
provide information on what the potential role of the airport could be. This information was
coded or categorized and saturated based on those questions and sub-categories of adaptation

8

concepts. Then the coded information was analyzed by finding linkages and relationships
among the categories through theoretical sampling and axial coding. One qualitative method
was used to provide background information on the interviews by using Dey’s (1993)
suggestion of a matrix to locate and determine significant variables. Utilizing the
aforementioned procedures, a grounded materialized.
Chapter 4 provides the results from the analysis. There are two main views of the
airport: the airport acting in an active role with communities during a disaster and the airport
acting more independently. Similarly, each main discussion point within the interviews
represents outcomes that dissemble information regarding not only the airport’s role but
additional issues involving operations, infrastructure capabilities, and vulnerabilities before,
during and after a disaster, such as airports engaging communities for disaster recovery. Much
of the coded information provided by the interviews also appears to be dependent on the type
of occupation for each interviewee. Each one of these views has its strengths and weaknesses
depending on the context of the airport and hazard they respectively encounter. It is apparent
that the current role of the airport before, during, and after a hazard or disaster is to operate as
an airport. However, given the right circumstances such as proper planning and infrastructure,
the airport could become a more permanent tool for communities to use in disaster recovery.
Chapter 5 presents information on what the airport’s role is and should be before,
during, and after encountering a hazard or disaster and suitable adaption approaches. It is
apparent that the airport’s first objective is to become operational as quickly as possible
following a hazard or disaster. However, there are multiple approaches that decrease the time

9

necessary for the airport to become operational. These include retrofitting and passively
adapting the critical infrastructure for operations that are present in the C-139 requirements.
Once operational, the airport can begin to resume normal operations. However, the airport
may be able to play additional roles in response and recovery of hazard or disaster. After an
assessment of the airport’s infrastructure and operational capacity, the airport may be able to
provide the community with recovery supplies given the necessary adaptation procedures.
Chapter 6 concludes the research topic by acknowledging various avenues government
and airport officials, in addition to consultants, can utilize to increase airport adaptation. The
approach for determining proper adaptation avenues is based on the class of airport and the
perceived level of risk. Additionally, chapter 6 provides information on how to change the
mindset of airport officials into believing their airport is adaptable. Lastly, chapter 6 leaves the
reader with knowledge and questions about future research.

10

Chapter-2
LITERATURE REVIEW

11

2.1 Introduction
When discussing the impacts that a hazardous event has on something, that something
will be henceforth known as “system”; a system in the sense that it encompasses a spectrum of
physical and non-physical relationships, of which these relationships determine the role of the
system. In this regard, the airport is a system that contains various sub-systems such as,
airplanes, communication linkages, internal and external infrastructure (air traffic control tower
and highway, respectively), management decisions, policy formulation and so forth. When
these pieces come together, they create a functional relationship based on the sum of its parts.
The degradation or failure of one of the previously mentioned components can create system
failure. However convoluted or infinitely encompassing hazardous events are on a system,
they can be defined in terms of their potential destruction from hazards through a concept
called risk.
2.2 Defining Risk
Hazards are events that have the potential to break the capabilities of a system. For
example, a thunderstorm event that produces an amount of precipitation that a system can
handle (i.e, will not flood), whether that precipitation is above its normal precipitation level or
not, the event is not considered hazardous. Alternatively, a thunderstorm that produces rainfall
that a system cannot handle (i.e, will flood), whether that rainfall is above the normal amount
or not, the event is considered hazardous. Therefore, when determining if a hazard exists, it is
important to examine both the hazard event and the hazard system.

12

Identifying if a hazard exists requires the examination of both the event that causes the
hazard and the system which receives the effects of the hazard event. By examining the event,
one is studying how the natural event is increasing or decreasing in intensity whether that is
through examining climate change or atmospheric stability. By examining the system, one is
studying how the system is prepared for the intensity of the occurring event. Studying how a
system is prepared for the intensity of an event contains many factors and the combination of
those factors is known as risk.
When a system is at risk for natural disasters it is often calculated by a risk assessment.
This assessment is quantitatively described by Brooks (2003) as:

Qualitatively this function can be described as an interaction of a system’s vulnerability to the
hazard directly determined by the system’s expose to that hazard, thus producing a system’s
overall risk. In other words, the determination of risk is functionally conditional on two
independent factors: vulnerability and hazard exposure (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, 2007 and Brillinger, 2003).
2.2.1 Vulnerability
If the system is left unprepared for a hazard it will be vulnerable to the negative effects
created by that hazard. Vulnerability can be described as a system’s susceptibility or inability to
cope when encountering hazardous or atypical circumstances (Cutter, 1996). For a system to
cope with a hazard, it must not receive any inoperable damage. However, if a system does
receive inoperable damage, the system’s coping abilities were weaker than the effects of the
13

hazard. Therefore, when a system can cope with the negative effects of a hazard, it will not
break the system but still may cause physical or social damage (Brooks, 2003). Conversely, if a
system cannot cope with the negative effects of the hazard, its normal role or function
decreases or is non-existence. This is often referred to as coping capacity. For example, a
system can only cope with a 2 inch storm surge but a hazard delivers a 3 inch storm surge. Then
the system is likely to experience functional degradation (i.e., the system is broken) and is
therefore vulnerable to 3 inch storm surges. Vulnerability can be determined by how a system
receives physical and social damage from the potential negative impacts of hazards (Cutter,
1996; Cutter et al., 2003; and Watson et al., 1998).
The potential damages of a system encountering hazards can be described by examining
the physical and social 1dimensions of vulnerability. The physical dimension of vulnerability
refers to a system’s tangible objects, of which their destruction creates direct and indirect
damage. Physical damage can occur to any object, such as transportation systems, buildings,
natural features, etc (Cutter, 1996; Cutter et al., 2000: Brooks, 2003; and Klein et al., 1998). For
example, a hazard is located near a cement industrial plant. The industrial plant is vulnerable to
the extreme effects of that hazard and therefore destroyed. The destroyed plant can no longer
deliver the necessary cement to construction companies across the region. In this scenario, the
cement industrial plant was physically vulnerable to the effects of the hazard because the
tangible building was destroyed. The resulting physical damage is often determined by
operational status of the system after the hazard (Brooks, 2003). When physical systems
become increasingly inoperable, it often has detrimental effects on society.

14

Social vulnerability is concerned with specific human groups being subjected to the ill
effects of a hazard (Cutter and Emrich, 2006 and Cutter et al., 2003). Brooks (2003) has defined
social vulnerability as the internal mechanism and forces that create operational and functional
inflexibility when encountered with a hazard. In other words, some social groups can be more
vulnerable to the effects of hazards than other groups. This is similar to how the physical
framework of a system is vulnerable, only this recognizes personal vulnerability (Cutter, 2000).
For example, when the aforementioned cement factory was destroyed by a hazard, it increased
the unemployment in the area due to the inoperable status of the cement plant. In this case,
the cement factory’s employees would be vulnerable to the effects of the hazard. Social
dimension of vulnerability are strongly but not solely related to economics status, social fabric,
and political strength (Cutter et al., 2003).
Often social vulnerability is associated with disadvantaged social groups that are usually
in poverty and/or have physical and/or mental disabilities (Cutter, 2000). Social groups that do
not have adequate financial incomes are often subject to political and mainstream society
ignorance and therefore are the most exposed to hazards. These groups are often the most
exposed to the hazardous effects and possess poor social frameworks for coping with the
hazard. Therefore disadvantaged social groups are the most exposed to the negative aspects of
hazards (Cutter and Emrich, 2006; Cutter et al., 2003; and Cutter et al., 2000).
2.2.2 Hazard Exposure
Hazard exposure refers to a system’s likelihood of encountering an abnormal event, not
the resulting impacts of the abnormal event. If a system’s likelihood of encountering a

15

hazardous event is low, the system’s overall risk will decrease and vice versa (Brooks, 2003). In
most cases, hazard exposure involves the system’s geographical location. For example,
hurricanes are more likely to strike a coastal region than an inland region. Therefore,
geographical location often dictates a system’s hazard expose, a prerequisite in determining a
system’s risk.
Hazard exposure is a prerequisite in determining a system’s risk. In other words, hazard
exposure determines if the system is likely to experience an extreme event. If the system never
experiences an extreme event, its hazard exposure can therefore be numerically represented
by zero. Using the zero property of multiplication, it is apparent that the overall risk would
equal zero if any of the independent variables (vulnerability and hazard exposure) were zero.
Therefore, it is futile to examine a system’s vulnerability to a hazard if the exposure to that
hazard is zero (Cutter, 1996 and Watson et al., 1998). Quantitatively this can be represented by:

Ideally, systems want their risk to be as close as possible, if not, zero. This can be achieved by
formulating adaptation measures.
2.2.3 Adaptation
Adaptation measures are often implemented by a system to combat negative effects of
hazards. This is accomplished by altering a system’s physical and social coping capacity, so that
a non-negative systematic respond to external stimuli is achieved. More specifically, this
response requires two types of sub-adaptation: passive and active. Passive adaptation is a
conditional response to the effects of hazards; whereas active adaptation is an absolute
16

response to the effects of hazards (Bicknell et al., 2009). To further clarify, passive adaptation
involves individuals or groups organizing to quickly diminish the effects of hazards. Whereas
active adaptation involves a long term plan that specifically calculates the necessities to reduce
or eliminate the effects of hazards. In other words, passive adaptation is a reactionary response
whereas active adaptation is a proactive response. Examples of these responses are shown in
Table 2.1. By reducing or eliminating the effects of hazards through adaptation, systems are
able to increase their resiliency to hazards.
Table 2.1 – A Matrix of Adaptation Approaches
Adaptation Approaches
Physical

Passive
Using sandbags to stop a
storm surge from flooding a
neighborhood.

Social

Telling a flood prone
neighborhood an evacuation
has been issued.

Active
Constructing concrete
barricades to stop a 4 foot
storm surge from flooding a
neighborhood.
Having an evacuation route
for a flood prone
neighborhood.

For example, the Chicago fire of 1871 presents an extreme situation that involves both passive
and active adaptation methods to combat the fire. In 1871, Chicago experienced a large fire
that spread quickly due to buildings being composed of wood and located close to each other.
Attempts to extinguish the fire with water failed, resulting in nearly 4 square miles of burned
buildings and property. To avoid similar events, the City of Chicago mandated that buildings be
spaced apart more appropriately and composed of different material (Cronon, 1992). The
attempt to extinguish the fire is an example of passive adaption, while the enactment of
building material and setback codes, proved the city actively adapted itself to the effects of the
fire. The latter processes increased the resiliency of Chicago to future fires.
17

2.2.4 Resiliency
The resilience of a system is its ability to be physically and socially flexible when
encountered by a hazard. This is different than vulnerability. As previously mentioned,
vulnerability is a system’s inability to cope whereas resilience is the degree to which a system
can cope. In other words, resilience is the degree to which a system bends to the effects of the
hazard without that bend breaking, causing physical and/or social damage whereas,
vulnerability is a measurement of the amount of intensity required to break a system. Creating
a bending but not breaking system is often achieved by applying various physical and social
adaptations (Cutter and Emrich, 2006; Cutter et al., 2000; Cutter, 1996). Therefore, resiliency
measures the effectiveness of adaptation on diminishing the negative effects of a hazard (IPCC,
2007). For example, assume a system has implemented adaptation pieces to decrease its
vulnerability to a hazard but yet suffered the same damage as if those adaption pieces had not
been in place. Through this example, the resilience of the system has not increased because the
adopted adaptation pieces where ineffective. Conversely, if a system creates adaptation
policies of which the systems now suffers less damage when exposed to a hazard, then the
resiliency of the system has increased and therefore less vulnerable to negative effects of
hazards. When a system becomes less vulnerable, through adaptation, the likelihood of a
hazard converting into a disaster also diminishes and vice versa. When adaptation is ineffective,
the hazards have the potential to turn into disasters.
A disaster is a result of a hazard event that breaks the physical and social flexibility of a
system’s coping capacity and adaptation measures, leading to physical and social damage
(Pielke and Sarewitz, 2005). For example, a system may be able to cope or bend with a storm
18

surge of 2 inches, but storm surges larger, will begin to break the system’s resiliency i.e., floods
that cause property damage. That is, storm surges larger than 2 inches may cause damages to
buildings, infrastructure, people, the economy, etc. Therefore, the stronger the hazard is, the
more damage that may potentially result. To further clarify, communities often plan for 100
year floods; that is, a flood of a certain magnitude that has a 1% chance of occurring every year
or 100% chance within 100 years (Ward and Trimble, 2004). When flood events are beyond the
100 year flood plan, it can often break a system, potentially leading to a disaster. Likewise, the
type of hazard that is present also dictates how the system needs to respond.
2.3 Defining Disasters
There are numerous types of disaster; however, there are two main categories: manmade and natural disasters. As it suggests, man-made disasters are triggered by purposeful or
accidental decisions by human-beings, of which that decision creates negative effects that
break a system. Such examples include: chemical spills on a freeway, terrorist attacks, or
nuclear accidents. Natural disasters are events triggered by the physical interactions that define
the event. For example, natural disasters can include: meteorological events, such as
hurricanes, tornadoes, freezing rain, extreme temperature changes, floods, droughts, etc.;
geological events such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, etc; biological events, such as
influenza, SARS, and yellow fever. The succeeding chapters focus on meteorological hazards
including: hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards.
2.3.1 Tornadoes
Tornadoes are cyclonic storms that form when warm, moist air meets eastward cold air
masses potentially causing violent rotations. Rising air within a thunderstorm creates rotational
19

air masses from horizontal to vertical direction. When these forces meet and a rotational funnel
cloud forms, the damage can be catastrophic depending on strength of the tornado. Tornadoes
usually form in the early spring season in the Central States of the US (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, 2012). Figure 2.1, highlights tornado alley, a region frequently
prone to tornadoes. However, tornadoes have the potential to form anywhere. Figure 2.2
displays the average occurrence of tornadoes in each respective state per year. The data is
based on number of occurrences tornado between 1950 and 2004.
Occasionally but rarely, tornadoes can also accompany hurricanes. Globally, the United
States experiences the most tornadoes.
Figure 2.1 – Tornado Alley

For interpretation of the references to color in this and all other figures, the reader is referred
to the electronic version of this thesis.
Source: Concannon et al., 2000
20

Figure 2.2 – Average Tornadoes per Year per State

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2012
21

Tornadoes appear on average 800 times in the nation resulting in roughly 80 deaths per year
and another 150,000 injured. In comparison to hurricanes’ regional destruction, damage from a
tornado is more local with damage correlated to the tornado’s path (Rauber et al., 2008).
Often, the paths of destruction can be over one mile wide and 50 miles in length. Accompanied
by wind speeds of up to 250 miles per hour and surrounding homes roofs are blown off
(University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2012). Figure 2.3, displays total tornados from 1950 – 2008.
Figure 2.3 – Tornado Totals in the United States from 1950 - 2008

Source: University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2012

22

While airports do not often experience tornadoes, it can occur. When such incidents do arrive,
airports are reluctant to operate for fear of airplanes crashing and causing injuries or deaths
(Chang et al., 2005). Therefore, airports will temporary close waiting until the storm has passed
upon which damage assessments will ensue.
2.3.2 Blizzards
Blizzards may be confused with a snow storms however, blizzards are much more.
Blizzards include weather activity of intense blowing snow, creating low visibility. The low
visibility results not solely from the falling snow blowing but also snow on the ground blowing,
essentially creating drifts (Rauber et al., 2008). To quantify blizzards the National Weather
Service considers blizzards as a storm with large amounts of snow or blowing snow exceeding
35 miles per hours with visibility less than 0.25 miles. The formation of blizzards revolves
around low pressure gradients.
When a blizzard storm arrangement is present, there is a low pressure system that
centers it, west of low pressure center the pressure is much greater yielding strong wind forces
to account for the difference. The winds produced in turn move falling or fallen snow. Certain
regions of the United States are more prone to experience blizzards than others, particularly
the upper Midwest and the Great Plains region (Rauber et al., 2005). These types of events can
have debilitating effects on airports.
Airport operations are subject to various forms of weather conditions including
blizzards. Since blizzards present low visibility and high wind speeds, airports are reluctant or at
least cautious to operate. This is because the operating conditions for airplanes are less than

23

ideal rendering them susceptible for runway crashes, icing issues, and in-flight complications
(Chang et al., 2003). As a result, airports will seize operations until favorable conditions emerge.
2.3.3 Hurricanes
Hurricanes are created when thunderstorms manifest into an organized cyclonic system,
when the proper oceanic and atmospheric conditions are present. Hurricane formation usually
requires deep surface water temperature above 80˚F in addition to limited vertical wind shear.
Given these requirements, the ideal hurricane inducing conditions are seasonally correlated
with early June through late November. Hurricanes can form in many locations, but there are
some very common formation locations. In the northern hemisphere, hurricanes form in the
Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. In the Atlantic Ocean, hurricanes are usually constructed near the
coast of northwestern Africa, the coast of Brazil, and in Central America, as shown in Figure 2.4.
In the Pacific Ocean, hurricanes commonly form near the west coast of Mexico and in the South
Pacific Ocean, as shown in Figure 2.5. Once hurricanes are formed, they tend to follow a
generalized path (Rauber et al., 2008).

24

Figure 2.4 Hurricane Points of Origin from 1944 – 2010

Source: http://stormcarib.com/climatology/origin1944.htm
Macroscopically speaking, a hurricane’s likely course is relatively simple to determine. A
majority of hurricanes traverse on a course that resembles a hook, as shown in Figure 2.5
(NASA Earth Observatory, 2008). In the northern hemisphere it will travel west from the
Atlantic or Pacific eventually turning northward then northwestward, creating a northern hook
course, as shown in Figure 2.6.

25

Figure 2.5 – Global Hurricane Tracks from 1855 – 2005

Source: NASA Earth Observatory, 2008
Figure 2.6 – Northern Hook Course for Hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere

In the southern hemisphere it will travel east from the Pacific and eventually turn southward
then southeastward, creating a southern hook course, as shown in Figure 2.7, which is a mirror
image of the northern hook resembled in Figure 2.6.

26

Figure 2.7 – Southern Hook Course for Hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere

These common trajectories increase the hazard expose for regions such as the gulf and
eastern coast regions of the United States and the south and eastern coasts of Asia, as
indicated by Figure 2.5, where hurricanes make landfall. Microscopically, the specific path a
hurricane will follow is much more difficult, requiring robust analytical computer models and
other forecasting techniques. In addition, to the numerous studies on where a hurricane forms,
there are studies on the formation of hurricanes and its components (Rauber et al., 2008).
As a hurricane intensifies, it becomes an increasingly powerful hazard, escalating the
potential for physical and social disaster. To determine the likelihood of potential damage
caused to a system, a classification system knows as the Saffir – Simpson scale was developed
(Haddow and Bullock, 2004 and Rauber et al., 2008). This scale measures how hazardous a
hurricane is by identifying the attributes of the hurricane and referencing those attributes to
the potential damage a hurricane may impose by indentifying (Senkbeil and Sheridan, 2006)
eye pressure, wind speed, and storm surge.
Eye pressure is the atmospheric pressure at the center of the hurricane, which is usually
an indication of hurricane strength. The lower the eye pressure, the stronger the hurricane and

27

more hazardous it becomes, consequently the opposite is true. Wind speed refers to the
rotational vortices speed. Finally, storm surge is the amount of water being pushed by the
hurricane’s wind. Assembling the intensity of the hurricane’s attributes creates different
categories. For example, a category 4 hurricane will produce central pressure (eye pressure)
between 920 – 944 millibars, winds between 131 – 155 mph, and a storm surge between 4 –
5.5 meters (Senkbeil and Sheridan, 2006 and Haddow and Bullock, 2004). These parameters are
an indication of whether the hurricane can jeopardize a system’s coping capacity. Two
examples, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Hurricane Andrew in Florida are described
below to further explain this concept.
Hurricane Katrina, in 2005, became a category 3 hurricane when it made landfall, it was
not the highest rated landfall hurricane in the United States, but was the most destructive.
Hurricane Katrina’s wind speed was measured between 130 – 155 mph; however, it was not the
speed that caused much of the destruction, but the storm surge. The storm surge that followed
Hurricane Katrina was roughly 10 meters high. The 10 meter storm surge accompanied by New
Orleans low elevation resulted in large flood damage. To date, this is the costliest hurricane in
the United States, with damage worth nearly $75 billion (McCallum and Herning, 2006).
However, unlike Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Andrew caused destruction in a different form.
Unlike Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Andrew’s destructive power resulted from wind
speed, not the storm surge. Hurricane Andrew, in 1992, became a category 4 storm when it
made landfall in Southern Florida, with its destructive winds. It is difficult to indicate how
powerful the hurricane’s wind speed was because during landfall the hurricane destroyed many

28

meteorological stations that measure wind speed. However, there were reports of wind gusts
reaching roughly 200 mph. The storm also produced about 5 meter storm surge. Until the
events of Katrina, Hurricane Andrew was the costliest hurricane in United States history, costing
nearly $40 – 45 billion (Labisky et al., 1991 and Greenough et al., 2001). However, this type of
scenario is not uncommon because succeeding hurricanes are usually more costly than their
predecessor due to the increase in the sophistication of human produced environments (Flynn
et al., 2007).
Table 2.2 – Well Known Hurricanes
Category at
Hurricane Date
Location
Deaths
Landfall
Andrew
1992 5
Florida
≈14 – 40
Katrina
2005 3
Louisiana, ≈1,300
Alabama,

Damage (USD)
≈$40 – 45
≈$75

Damage Cause
High Winds
Flooding and
Torrential Rainfall

Source: McCallum and Herning, 2006; Labisky et al., 1991; Greenough et al., 2001.
2.4 Increase in Disaster Costs
Human induced effects are causing the magnitude of hazards to increase but not the
frequency. Hazard frequency and magnitude are two separable terms. Hazard frequency
implies how many hazards are occurring (Pielke and Sarewitz, 2005). Hazard magnitude refers
to the strength of the hazard and the likelihood of hazard transformation into a disaster.
Damage caused by such a transformation is increasing due to three factors: increasing urban
population, none or minimal adaptation policies, and high-tech infrastructure in complex urban
systems. When urban population increases, it increases the potential for the total amount of
lives lost during a disaster (Basher, 2006). For example, if system 1 has a population of 10,000
and system 2 has a population of 100,000 and both experience 20% loss of live, system 2 loses
29

more life. This situation is often magnified when urban systems are quickly developing because
development occurs so rapidly that adaptation policies are often ignored. Finally, complex
urban systems with high-tech infrastructure have the potential for large financial loss when
exposed to hazards (Pielke et al., 2003 and Fitzpatrick, 2006). This is because the more advance
the technology, the more it costs to replace or fix. For example, if both a conventional and
magnetic rail system were destroyed, it would cost more to replace the magnetic system
(Weichselgartner and Sendzimir, 2004). Therefore, system vulnerability is often associated with
systems that possess a lack of adaptation policy accompanied by complex infrastructure.
2.5 Airline Regulation, Airports, and Definitions
2.5.1 Airports Introduction
On October 24, 1978, the airline industry forever changed when congressed passed the
Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. This act essentially eliminated the Civil Aeronautics Board
(CAB) Sunset Act and replaced it with the Department of Transport (DOT). By creating such act,
it eliminated the difficulty of entry and exit of airliners to airports and mandated route
protocols and replaced it with government written certificate based on consumer demands. In
other words, the government wrote entry certificates based on if the airline’s fit, are willing,
and able to meet consumer demands. Likewise, if the airliner is not fit, willing, or able to meet
the demands of consumers and is generally performing below expectations, the DOT will
revoke their certificate. The latter of which applies only to domestic flight because DOT’s
revocation power for international flight is dependent on presidential approval. With the deregulated doctrine in place, airliners were granted more freedom to expand or contract services
to or from airports. However, airports themselves remained controlled by a government
30

agency, therefore creating two distinct entities: the airport and the airliner (Bailey, 1986;
Morrison and Winston, 1989; and Wells, 1996). The deregulated market potentially increased
airports and airliners importance in the transportation of people and cargo.

Since aviation deregulation, aviation’s air traffic has doubled every 15-20 years and
since 2000 has grown by 3.1% per year. The reason for growth lies in the nature of the aviation
sector providing services for people, businesses, products, and even real estate (Wells, 1996)
but also the more obvious reasons such as, job growth directly, indirectly, and inductively
related to airports and aviation (Chalabi, 2002). The aforementioned phenomenon is
exaggerated through processes of when businesses and people meet globalization demands of
expanding economies (Wells, 2002). To continue to meet such demands, different classes of
airports were developed that accommodate a spectrum of service demands.
2.5.2 Classes of Airports
The FAA has recognized that there are four main types of classes: class I, II, III, and IV.
They are defined by their operational role and capacity. Only 3 classes are currently subjects to
the laws of part 139 airport certification. Class III will be newly certified. Class I consists of
supports aircraft that accommodate at least 30 passengers on scheduled and unscheduled
routes in addition to scheduled small aircraft seating 10-20 passengers. Class II consists of
unscheduled aircraft that seat at least 30 passengers. Class III consists of scheduled small
aircraft that seat between 10 and 20 passengers. Class IV consists of unscheduled aircraft that
seats at least 30 passengers. The FAA has defined unscheduled operations as, “any common
passenger-carrying operation for compensation or hire, using aircraft designed for at least 31
passenger seats, conducted by an air carrier for which the departure time, departure location,
31

and arrival location are specifically negotiated with the customer or the customer’s
representatives.” (FAA, 2012). Despite the brevity of airport class definitions, there are two
larger definitions of airports.
2.5.3 Commercial Aviation Airports
A hub-and-spoke network is a series of connections of which the hub is centrally located
to consolidate people, freight, and ideas to one location. The spoke is where the people,
freight, and ideas originate from or are directed to (Brueckner et al., 1992 and Campbell and
Krishnamoorth, 2005). Hub-and-spoke networks became popular after the deregulation act
(Morrison and Winston, 2008) and are expected to become increasingly popular. More
commonly though, the hub of such network is where the largest airports, or class I airports, are
found, accounting for at least 1% of passenger enplanements. However, hub-and-spoke
networks have created air carrier delays due to airliners willing to accept delay costs in return
for the benefits of a hub-and-spoke network (Mayor and Sinai, 2003). In other words, the
airliner’s marginal benefits outweigh the marginal costs and thus, are willing to maintain
operation at a hub despite frequent delays. However, airliners are beginning to adapt
procedures that create “safety times” that introduce additional travel time which in turn
minimally and insufficiently disrupts the network’s travel time. If delay is continuously
increasing it may begin to jeopardize the network’s travel time integrity. Therefore, even in
increasingly congested hub airports, airliners will continue operating there (Lederer and
Nambimadom, 1998).

32

2.5.4 General Aviation Airports
While there is no legal definition (Truitt and Tarry, 1995), general aviation airports can
be summarized as multi-purpose facilities for small airplanes, in comparison to their larger
counterpart, commercial aviation. According to Wells (1996) general aviation systems account
for more than just passenger and cargo enplanement, but also for crop dusting, search and
rescue operations and even medical transport. Usually these types of systems are small in the
nature with the intended function, as suggested by the basic utility (BU) and the general utility
(GU) categories of general aviation airports of which these categories provide the base for
other aviation sectors (Truitt and Tarry, 1995).
2.6 Aviation Fragility from Hazards and Countermeasures
While flight delays are nuisances, flight cancellations have the potential to cause large
rippling consequences of airliner and airport profit loss due to direct and indirect revenue
decreasing from consumer dissatisfaction. Avoidance of the aforementioned consequences is
either resolved by airliners frantically rescheduling flights or customers switching airliners
(Rupp et al., 2005). However, airport and the airliner’s network can experience chaos when
presented with a cancellation or delay if it is not properly resolved (Filar, 2001). When not
properly resolved, airliners and airports will reap large financial loss especially when
cancellations occur at hub airports (Rupp and Holmes, 2005).

The Air Transport Association (ATA) in 2009 stated that the total passenger airline industry lost
100 million delay minutes creating a direct cost of nearly $6 billion (Air Transportation
Association, 2010). Most of these cancellations and delays were generated through three
33

scenarios: airline resource shortages, airport and airspace capacity shortages (Bratu and
Barnhart, 2006), and generate economic trends (Rupp and Holmes, 2005). Airline resource
shortages can be described as delays or cancellations caused by maintenance issues, crew
shortages, or longer than expected passenger embarking or disembarking procedures. Airport
and airspace capacity shortages can be described as delays or cancelations caused by airliners
exceeding the arrival and departure capacity of the airport usually caused by meteorological
events or other types of short term scenarios that create peak arrivals and departures from
airports. This system behavior often jeopardizes sequential flights (Bratu and Barnhart, 2006).
Finally, cancellations and delays can be caused an airliner’s financial decision to eliminate a
flight due to the lack of passengers (Rupp and Holmes, 2005). However, airports can also be
mandated to “shut down” as an ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (Winston and
Rus, 2008). Some commonly occurring events that have caused airport closures include: 9/11,
volcanic ash, winter storms, and storm surges.

Airport closures can affect airliners, passengers, cargo, tourism, surrounding and inner
businesses associated with airports (Chang et al., 2003) depending on the magnitude of the
closure or delay. However, Robinson (1989) was able to calculate the direct financial impacts of
weather events on airliners and airports by isolating airport delays and cancellations caused by
thunder and snowstorms. For example, Robinson (1989) concluded that airliners in Atlanta who
averaged about 260 flights per day lost about 5160 minutes per day due to the presents of
thunderstorms. This research can be used to quantify the yearly cost of delays by multiplying it
by the operating cost of airliners per minute. For example, the ATA (2010) estimates that the
average minute of operation for an airplane in 2009 was about $60.99 per minute. Therefore, if
34

an airport experienced 100 days of thunderstorms of which an airliner averaged about 260
flights per day would experience an annual loss of:

Using this formula represents direct costs airliners receive when confronted with a flight delay
or cancellation. Alternatively, however, there are numerous indirect and often difficult to
measure consequences associated with flight delays and cancellations. In many cases the
airport is shut down for long term disasters, relaying on the national response plan.
2.6.1 National Response Plan
The National Response Plan (NRP), announced in 2004 by the Department of Homeland
Security, is based on the communication and coordination of federal agencies to respond to a
disaster. While the plan responses to a single disaster, it structured to perform its duties on an
all hazards approach (Pampell, 2008 and Department of Homeland Security, 2004); meaning
the plan can respond to both natural and man-made disaster events ranging from terrorist
attacks to hurricanes based on the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Being based
on NIMS, the NRP is designed to effectively coordinate and communicate disaster response and
recovery not only between the federal agencies but also between federal agencies and state,
local, non-government organizations (NGOs) and tribes (Haddow and Bullock, 2006). However,
for NPS to be implemented local and state authorities are required to argue the need for
federal assistance after local and states exhaust their resources (Pampell, 2008).

35

2.6.2 Transportation Security Administration Authority in Decreasing Hazard
Fragility
Perhaps the most notorious event in recent history involved the national closure of
airports due to the events on 9/11. After receiving messages of planes inbound for various high
profile cities, following the collision on the World Trade Center, the FAA closed down all
airports for the following two days. In Washington DC, the Reagan National Airport was closed
for 23 days and gradually reopened over the following 6 months. During this time of airport
closure, the local, regional and international economies experienced large financial effluxes. It
has been estimated that the economic impact of the Reagan National Airport closing was about
$330 million per day (Robinson, 1998). In addition to the direct costs, 9/11 created numerous
indirect costs to the aviation sector.
th

Years after the events of September 11 , the aviation sector still experienced economic
stagnation or decline. The month of September, the aviation traffic decreased between 35 –
40% (Bailey, 2002). From August 2001 to December 2002, aviation employment declined by
13%. Additionally, the airport industry was estimated to have lost $16.6 billion in property and
businesses interruptions (Rhoades, 2004). For fear that this trend would continue, the US
Congress quickly passed a financial stabilization fund for airliners worth $5 billion with a loan
package for 9 months granting an addition $10 billion (Bailey, 2002). Despite the financial
bailout from the federal government, airport systems experienced new costs which were
created by the latest security measures established from government intervention in postth

September 11 aviation (Rhoades, 2004).

36

The government responded to airport’s vulnerability to terrorist attacks by establishing
the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) within the Department of Homeland Security
(Moteff, 2003). The goal of TSA was to minimize the likelihood of physical or cognitive terrorist
activities that jeopardize aviation businesses. However, the government’s new adaptation
program is creating aggravated customers by increasing travel times due to waiting periods for
security procedures despite their potential to decrease terrorism activity (Rhoades, 2004).

It appears that the Transportation Security Administration was created with the
intentions of establishing terrorist resilient aviation facilities but also created a defiant
economic market. On one hand, the Transportation Security Administration negates terrorist
activities or at least diminishes the likelihood of such occurrence by advancing screen
procedures and security technologies (Bailey, 2002). For example, Mathews (2010) claims that a
full body scan during airport check might have exploited the explosives knitted in a person’s
underwear. On the other hand, the Transportation Security Administration is fostering lengthy
processing times, in some scenarios hours long (Peterson et al., 2007), impeding business
transactions such as mail, cargo, and face-to-face business deals. For example Moorman (2007)
states that for cargo over the next 10 years to be inspected would cost approximately $3.6
billion due to the lack of technology that would be able to processes that much cargo in a
quickly matter. Additionally, when airports experience an influx of passengers the security
delays are compounded because the security infrastructure has not “caught up” to the new
passenger loads (Pool Jr, 2007). However, the TSA is designed for intentional man-made
disasters, not natural disasters such as hurricanes or snowstorms.

37

The aforementioned statistics are an extreme outcome of an unforeseen assault on the
aviation transportation network whereas; extreme weather events are a foreseeable event that
affects transportation infrastructure. For example, hurricanes are monitored well before they
make landfall (Cutter et al., 2006). Whereas terrorist events are unforeseeable in the sense that
are difficult to predict and monitor (O’Day, 2004) when compared to natural events.
2.6.3 Federal Emergency Management Agency in Decreasing Hazard Fragility
In 1988, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act were
signed to amend the Disaster Relief Act of 1974. The more specific goal of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act was to alleviate damage from disasters by:

1. “ Revising and broadening the scope of existing disaster relief programs;
2. Encouraging the development of comprehensive disaster preparedness and
assistance plans, programs capabilities, and organizations by the States and by local
governments;
3. Achieving greater coordination and responsiveness of disaster preparedness and
relief programs;
4. Encouraging individuals, States, and local governments to protect themselves by
obtaining insurance coverage to supplement or replace governmental assistance;
5. Encouraging hazard mitigation measures to reduce losses from disaster, including
development of land use and construction regulations; and

38

6. Providing Federal assistance programs for both public and private losses sustained in
disasters.” – pg 1 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as
amended, and Related Authorities, 2007

When disasters strike States, it is the responsibility of the governor to declare a state
disaster and request federal emergency relief. However, for the federal funds to be allocated
toward the state, a disaster must be declared or approved by the President. If a disaster is
declared by the governor and the president, Federal disaster assistance provides: facilities,
personnel, and supplies for disaster relief such as medicine and food among technical advisory
reports of disaster recovery, such as impact assessments and planning (Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 2007).
2.6.4 Federal Aviation Administration’s Role in Disaster Prevention
The Federal Aviation Administration was created in 1958, with the intent of providing
safe use of the national airspace. Additionally, in 1958 established the FAR Part 139
Certification and Operations of Air Carrier Airports as a policy and handbook impetus to
promote aviation safety (FAA, 2007). The handbook outlines safety issues and standards,
followed by Federal inspections such as, microscopic and macroscopic conditional status, such
as pavement improvements and safety inspections. Even though aviation safety is a concern for
the FAA, successful aviation operations are an increasing demand of FAA tasks.

As aviation traffic began to increase, airport systems responded to assure the hindrance of
delays and other adverse effects of aviation. For airports to respond to the demand, the
government issued responsibilities for the FAA additional which included: technologically
39

upgrading airport facilities, addressing environmental pollution, and prescribing airplane noise
measures to cope with the increase in aviation traffic. Upgraded facilities include the air traffic
control tower, which improved the volume of traffic. At the heart of such upgrades, was the
1970 edition of the Central Flow Control Facility, which allowed the FAA to predict any “trouble
spot” of the aviation network and predict weather for further prediction of delays. However,
the base of this technology lies on the World War II technology. In 2003, multiple federal
departments announced the production of a satellite based system for navigating airplanes
from the departure to arrival gate called Integrated Plan for the Next Generation Air
Transportation System (FAA, 2012). While the plan is not entirely complete, benefits are
already being present by that airliners are saving money because pilots and airplanes are more
predictable within the aviation network.
2.6.5 Other Agencies Responses to Disaster
There are several other government agencies that participate in disaster recovery such
as: Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, and
Department of Transportation. The Department of Housing and Urban Development actively
participates in disaster recovery by allocating grants for the mitigation of future disaster
through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), such as increasing the elevation of
buildings to prevent floods. The Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for
providing assistance to those who cannot physically or mentally obtain the necessary assistance
for recovery. The Department of Transportation is responsible for repairing federal-aid
highways and roads on federal property through a trust fund established for such special

40

occurrences (Haddow and Bullock, 2006). These are important agencies considering when the
failure of critical infrastructure occurs.
2.7 Defining Critical Infrastructure
Critical infrastructure can be determined by when its destruction or disruption leads to
detrimental impacts on the economy, well-being, or safety at the local, regional, or national
scale. Usually when critical infrastructure fails it is the result of other infrastructure’s inability to
replicate the failed infrastructure’s behavior (Moteff et al., 2003 and Church et al., 2004). For
example, if a cargo rail line failed in providing a plant with freight and no other transportation
network could mimic the rail line’s freight ability, that rail line would be considered critical. In
this example, when the rail lined failed, it would decrease or halt the industrial plant’s
production, hence the rail line would be classified as critical infrastructure. Such a classification
can be determined by geography and technology associated with the infrastructure.
2.7.1 Geographically Critical Infrastructure
Geographically, critical infrastructure can be determined by network centrality. Figure
2.8 displays the concept of centrality, where point 1 is the central point and all other points are
periphery. If a piece of infrastructure is centrally located, that is, the location or point where
periphery infrastructure are dependent on, such as a hub of an airport. The purpose of the
centrality is to provide a gathering or distribution location for supplies, material, people, and
even ideas. This rule also applies to transportation networks for cargo and passengers. Once
the cargo and passengers are located at the central point, they are redirected on a different
route for their final destination. In the aviation sector, this concept is known as a layover.
41

Therefore, when the central point is disrupted, all preceding layovers are disrupted, halting the
movement of goods and people (Graham, 2010). It is difficult for non-central points to mimic
the behavior of a central point because the non-central point does not have the same degree of
accessibility to the network, as shown in Figure 2.8.
Figure 2.8 – Network Centrality Concept

Likewise, central points are the busiest points in the network because of the
aforementioned redistribution of cargo and people from the periphery (Church et al., 2004).
Since, they are the busiest; they will often have the most direct access to points across the
network unlike a non-central point (Frey Luechinger, 2007). For example, a central point could
be networked with 15 points in direct connection unlike a non-central point which is networked
with n-2/p. The geographical location of a network can help determine its status as being
critical or not, but so can technology.

42

2.7.2 Technologically Critical Infrastructure
Advanced technology usually amplifies infrastructure’s responsibilities. Since advanced
technology in infrastructure usually results in an increase in load capacity (weight, traffic, wind
resistance, etc), any disruption would cause an overload in a less advanced but duplicate
system. For example, an advance air traffic control tower that uses satellite technology instead
of radar systems has the ability to coordinate more airline traffic at a given time. If a satellite air
traffic control tower were to suddenly be replaced by a radar air traffic control tower, the
system would overload because the radar ATC tower cannot coordinate as much airliner traffic
(Moteff et al., and Church et al., 2004). Therefore, when technologically advanced system
disruption occurs, technologically basic systems trying to replicate its behavior are overloaded
and eventually fail. Using the aforementioned pieces of information, critical components of
airports can be identified.
2.8 Critical Infrastructure of Airports
There are two main ways an airport can be critically defined; as a facility for airliners
(sum of its parts) and as a facility composed of operating infrastructure (its parts). In terms of
critical infrastructure, airports can be geographically defined by their role within an airliner’s
network, such as, a hub-and-spoke network. A hub-and-spoke network is a series of connection
that congregate at a central location (the hub) (Bruekner et al., 1992 and Campbell and
Krishnamoorth, 2005). The connections are composed of routes that radiate from the hub,
often termed spokes. Since the hub is a centrally located, it can be considered a critical aspect
within the network. In other words, if a hub airport where to close, all outgoing routes would
be negatively affected (Lederer and Nambimadom, 1998; Rupp and Holmes, 2005; Filar, 2001).
43

Therefore, hub airports can be deemed critical components of an airline network.
Technologically, airports also contain critical infrastructure pieces.
The air traffic control (ATC) tower consists of advanced technology to assist in the
logistical take-off and landing of airplanes. If the ATC tower were to become dysfunctional for
whatever reason, it is difficult but not impossible for airliners to coordinate their departures
and arrivals. This difficulty arises from the lack of other infrastructure pieces successfully
reproducing functions similar to that of the ATC (Moteff et al., 2003 and Church et al., 2004).
When the Next Generation Air Traffic System becomes operational, it will increase the capacity
of airliner coordination (FAA, 2011), if this system were to become dysfunctional, it may
temporarily cripple the airline industry at certain locations. This is an example of technologically
critical infrastructure because the sophistication of airliner coordination would suddenly be
reduced if the Next Generation Air Traffic System were inoperable. Therefore, it is suggested
that airports identify their critical infrastructure to increase its resilience against hazards to
diminish any potential adverse impacts on airport operations.
2.9 Disaster Shelters and the Airport
While the airport and its network contain numerous pieces of critical infrastructure due
to its geographic position and technological capacities, it may also contain critical infrastructure
based on its sheltering role during short-term weather events. When a hazard or disaster
strikes an airport or community, the airport may have the potential to convert various
infrastructure components into adequate shelters. This can be accomplished by examining the
duration necessary for which people will need shelter. In other words, as time away from

44

people’s original home increases and time in shelters increases, than additional social
conditions apply to the shelter. For example, social conditions in a shelter are mostly ignored
due the short duration tenure. Whereas social conditions in temporary housing are focused on
reestablishing a level of household normalcy due the longer duration periods (Curtis and Mills,
2009) but also to provide for personal items such as pets, recreation outlets, and
communication items (internet, radio, etc) (Barnes, 2006) and to meet the physiological needs
of evacuees such as, reuniting with loved ones (Watson et al., 2003). Through this example, it is
apparent that the more extended shelter occupation is, the more diverse and complicated the
social requirements are for that shelter to be successful. Sometimes though, shelters are not
successful and additional detrimental health and physiological effects often ensue on the most
vulnerable groups (Pampel, 2008).
When exposed to the harsh realities of a shelter, there is an increase of adverse health
conditions often induced by stress related issues. Often, vulnerable groups of people seek
refuge in shelters and temporary housing because they are unable to evacuate (Eisenman et al.,
2007). When vulnerable groups seek shelters, it is often because of their lack of transportation
options and/or they are too disabled or sick to physically handle the stress of evacuations. If
placed in a shelter, evacuees are exposed to crowded conditions, concentration of disease, and
inadequate medical supplies, ripe conditions for demoting heath. After the disaster when
disadvantage evacuees relocate back into their neighborhoods, conditions are still unfavorable
(Becker, 2009).

45

Vulnerable groups that have damaged homes are the least likely to experience a
seamless transition to normality. As previously mentioned, vulnerable groups are usually less
financially secure and therefore have decreased ability to repair their home. Likewise,
government response to vulnerable individuals whose homes were destroyed is lackluster;
often requiring months to years for full recovery. Additionally, vulnerable groups regularly
possess insufficient insurance, if they even have insurance at all (Eisenman et al., 2007). This
lack of insurance leads groups into social life of uncertainty and mobility. In other words,
vulnerable groups that have a lack of insurance and experience government welfare delays
either become homeless or extensively participate in disaster shelters. These shelters, of which,
contains limited support networks (churches, food banks, etc.) for individuals especially those
that experience adverse social conditions, such as single parent households (Curtis and Mills,
2009). This was the case with New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina arrived.
When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans evacuation orders were given for
people to relocate to the Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center (Pampell, 2008
and Brodie et al., 2006). The living conditions present were abysmal to say the least. According
to Brodie et al (2006), half of the shelter residents did not have adequate food or water and
nearly a third reported they were threatened with violence. An airport, if planned properly,
may provide relief or at least an alternative or addition to other conventional means of
sheltering vulnerable population groups.

46

2.10 Chapter Summary
Chapter 2 provides definitions about key concepts of the research including: risk,
vulnerability, hazard exposure, critical infrastructure, and shelters of airports. It is reported that
risk of a particular system involves identifying its hazard exposure and vulnerability. To combat
risk, a concept of adaptation is presented. This concept focuses on increasing the coping
capacity of a system so that when confronted with a hazard, it does not transform into a
disaster. By channeling adaptation concepts towards critical infrastructure of a system, coping
capacity can increase, thereby decreasing the likelihood of a disastrous outcome. If a disaster
outcome does occur, this chapter discussed federal agencies’ roles in disaster prevention and
recovery but all fail to significantly and directly mention airports within their framework.
Therefore, information needs to be assembled for understanding the adaption extent and
likelihood that airports can handle the before, during and after effects of hazards and disasters.
This can be accomplished through an extensive methodology that is based on the previously
stated concepts of risk and resiliency.

47

Chapter-3
Methods

48

3.1 Introduction
The purpose of this research is to lay a foundation for understanding airport’s physical
and social vulnerability to multiple hazards including hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards as
each relates to airport infrastructure and operations to determine risk and adaptation.
Additionally, this research’s goal is to determine the potential role airports play before, during,
and after a disaster and how it affects its resiliency and the resiliency of nearby communities
(Chapter 1.3). Therefore, methods need to be constructed to answer the aforementioned goal.
However, current research and databases provide too little data to explicitly solve this
research’s goal. To solve this problem, qualitative methods are utilized from Bartlett and
Payne’s (1997), procedure to formulate a grounded theory on the airport’s role before, during,
and after a disaster and how it can affect the resiliency of itself and nearby communities.
3.2 Theoretical Background on Qualitative Data and Grounded Theory
Several researchers, Pidgeon and Henwood (1997), and Strauss and Corbin (1990) state
that meaning is always in qualitative data, it is just identifying the relationships that exist within
the data. Identifying these relationships is dependent on how the interviewer recognizes the
context of the data. These authors suggest that the grounded theory should be produced using
literature as a guide for sifting through the data. However, Glaser (1978) suggests that Strauss
and Corbin’s technique will produce biased results because it makes the coder sensitive to the
data. Therefore, Glaser (1978) suggests that the coder simply approaches the data with little
understanding of the literature that surrounds it, consequently formulating a grounded theory
on the bases of one’s unbiased interpretation. On the other hand, such unguided techniques
may not produce a significant grounded theory because the researcher does not reflect on the

49

data therefore, ignoring multiple paths of relationship among the data. Each one of these
techniques has its strengths and weakness. Therefore, the research will employ both
techniques for determining a grounded theory. The first technique will be Gasser’s (1973)
method of an unbiased sensitively towards the data. This will be followed by creating sensitivity
through the data using Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) technique to determine meaning within the
data. The former of which applied to all the interviews simultaneously. The latter of which
applied to each separate interview within the entire dataset. Using these researchers ideas and
framework allowed Bartlett and Payne’s method for grounded theory to be easily employed.
3.3 Bartlett and Payne’s Method for Grounded Theory
As previously discussed, Bartlett and Payne’s (1997) method for grounded theory used
several step-by-step procedures. Their procedure is as follows:
1. Collecting the data through interviews
2. Transcribe the data
3. Develop open coding categories
4. Saturate the categories
5. Defining categories
6. Theoretical sampling
7. Axial coding
8. Theoretical integration
9. Ground the theory

50

While this process may seem like a linear relationship, it is not. Instead, it is iterative in the
sense that the data is inspected multiple times to ensure that extracting meaning or
relationships from the data is in accordance to the perspective of the research participants’
responses. Figure 3.1 illustrates these relationships in a sequential manner.
Figure 3.1 – Qualitative Data Analysis Procedure

51

Figure 3.1 displays the process of analyzing qualitative data based on Bartlett and Payne’s
(1997) method. Figure 3.1 appears to be an intricate process of multiple iterations. However,
this process can be broken down into three main components of analysis, as discussed later in
this chapter.
3.4 Collecting Data through Interviews
Data was collected by selecting appropriate research participants. As Bartlett and Payne
describe in their approach to establishing a grounded theory, the research participants can be
selected based on numerous criteria. The following sections reveal the criteria to selecting the
research participants.
3.4.1 Determining Research Profile
Interviewing was chosen as a data collection method because raw numerical data
relating to long term hazards effects on airport infrastructure and operations with airports has
yet to exist. Therefore, representatives were interviewed that possess knowledge on airport
and disaster management procedures, causes, problems, and solutions, more so than randomly
choosing research participants (Conrad, 1978). The representatives that were chosen to for the
interview process includes: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), airport
representatives, regional representatives, county representatives, city representatives, and
consultant agencies that specialize in airports and/or disasters. Each level of government was
interviewed to provide multiple perspectives to the effectiveness or ineptness of disaster risk
and resiliency. While only one interview from each governmental level was conducted it does
provide a framework for a larger schematic for the intricacies of disaster recovery between the
aforementioned agencies. Chapter 4 discusses detailed results between governmental
52

perspectives about disaster risk, resiliency, preparation, and recovery. More importantly is
discovering the feasibility and issues centered on airport’s perspective of their role in disaster
management. Therefore, a large portion of the research participants were airport officials that
have experience with hurricanes, tornadoes, or blizzards. Finally, consultants were interviewed
to determine an outsider’s perspective that understood both the federal and airport
perspectives as they related to disaster management.
3.4.2 Determining Research Participants
The research participants were selected based on several criteria that assists in
cementing conclusions reported in this research. As previously mentioned, the research
participants were grouped into three categories: government officials, airport officials, and
consultants. Within each category research participants were selected based on geographic
location and type of risk. The severity of risk was kept constant for the purpose of not
influencing the responses of the research participants. Therefore, perspectives recorded in the
interview maybe based on the geographical location and type of risk but not the severity of risk.
Table 3.1, displays the geographical location of the research participants and the likely risks
they are exposed to.

53

Table 3.1 – Research Participant Profile

Research
Participant

Occupation

Location

Tim Philips

Consultant

Montana

Don Griffith

Consultant

North Carolina

Stephanie Ward

Consultant

Michigan

Hud Hopkins

Airport Official

Texas

Jim Smith

Professor and
Consultant
County Government
Emergency Planner

West Virginia

Anthony Williams

Airport Official

Louisiana

James Duncan

Federal Government
Emergency Planner

FEMA Region IV (IL,
IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)

Robert Guevara

Airport Official

Texas

John Glass

Airport Official

Pennsylvania

Andy Singhas

Airport Official

Georgia

Derrec Becker

State Emergency
Manager

South Carolina

Allen Porter

City Emergency
Manager

Texas

Jeff Copeland

Florida

54

Specialization
Owner: Critical Path
Inc.
Airport Operations
Manager: Innovative
Emergency
Management
Aviations Manager:
Mead and Hunt
Airport Manager:
Scholes International
Airport
Researcher: American
Public University
Interim Director:
Hillsbourgh County of
Emergency
Management
Chief of Police
Department of Baton
Rouge Airport
Federal Preparedness
Coordinator: FEMA
Region IV
Airport Operations
Manager: Hobby
International Airport
Airport Operations
Superintendent:
Philadelphia Airport
Airport Operations
Manager: Savannah
International Airport
Public Information
Officer: South
Carolina Emergency
Management Division
Emergency Planner:
City of Houston

A majority of the research participants’ are at risk for hurricanes. This is because, as
previously described, geography is the main factor for hazard exposure. A majority of the
research participants are located on the Gulf and Eastern coast of the United States. However,
tornadoes and snow storms pose additional threats to several of research participants. A multihazard approach to assessing airport risk and resiliency allows the researcher to examine the
role of the airport on multiple fronts.
3.4.3 Determining Questions for Research Participants
Research participants were asked two types of questions that counterpoise each other.
Type one involves determining what “is” the airport’s role before, during, and after a hazard or
disaster. The second type involves assessing what “should” be the role of airports before,
during, and after a hazard or disaster. These two steps involved similar questions but
counterpoised to each other. The “is” questions can be viewed in Table 3.2 and the “should”
questions can be viewed in Table 3.3.
Table 3.2 – The “Is” Questions
1.

Questions for Interview
What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?

2.
3.
4.

What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
What is the airport’s role in prevention of a hazard?
What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?

Table 3.3 – The “Should” Questions
5.
6.
7.
8.

Questions for Interview
What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a hazard?
What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
By asking the “is” question, it generated responses based on the research participant’s

perspective of what the current role is of the airports during hazards and disasters. By asking
55

the “should” question, it created responses stemming from what the research participant’s
perspective was for ideally and effectively solving problems airports and communities
witnessed before, during, and after hazards and disasters were encountered. For the previously
stated reasons, these questions are referred to as the primary interview questions. However,
the interview process was not limited to the primary questions in Figure 3.2 and Figure 3.3.
To avoid vague responses, additional questions were asked to the participants, allowing
the participants to indulge deeper into the topic. The additional questions were not
predetermined. Instead, the interviewee must have first discussed the topic in order for an
additional question to be asked. For example, an interviewee was asked about what is the
airport’s role in response to a natural disaster and if their response included information on
infrastructure or operations, then more specific questions would be asked regarding
infrastructure and operations, as suggested by Lyons and Coyle (2007). However, if their
response did not include infrastructure, it would still warrant additional questions they
discussed in the primary question. This processes enriched the depth and clarity of the
interview therefore, coding the interviews and the preceding policy recommendations were
more accurate.
3.5 Saturating Data from Research Participants
After the research participant profile was established, data could be recorded from the
interviews. This process involves the first iterative series of Bartlett and Payne’s method for
constructing a grounded theory.

56

3.5.1 Open Coding and Data Saturation Procedure
After an interview was conducted and recorded, it was transcribed as presented by the
research participant. Upon completion of the transcribing, coding was conducted based on the
responses from the research participant. This is often referred to as open coding. According to
Dey (1993), open coding involves the research participant’s responses to dictate the code. It is
the responsibility of the researcher to identify the research participant’s meaning behind the
code or category (Glaser, 1978). In other words, the research participant answers the questions
with certain themes embedded in their response. These themes are codes or categories. It is
the researcher’s job to identify the codes embedded in their response.
When the coding process occurred, interview responses were decomposed into
hierarchal sections that provided meaning to the transcript in its entirety. To maintain the
meaning of the research participant’s responses, the decomposition processes was often
referred back to the interview’s entirety (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). This process was continued
until the data was saturated to produce a code book. Results are in Appendix C.
Saturating the data involved categorizing the transcript until no additional meaning was
found (Lyons and Coyle, 2007). This process is an iterative approach, requiring numerous
passages over each transcription until no new categories are discovered within any
transcription (Lyons and Coyle, 2007; Dey, 1993; and Bartlett and Payne, 1997), as shown in
Figure 3.2. However, this required the user’s interpretation of meaning with each transcript to
define categories from research participant’s responses.

57

Figure 3.2 – The Iterative Process of Data Saturation

3.6 Axial Coding from Saturated Categories
After the interviews were saturated with categories, axial coding could occur. This
process is the second iterative step in Bartlett and Payne’s (1997) method for grounded theory.
Axial coding helps solidify meaning and relationships within the data. Figure 3.3 displays the
iterative process of constructing axial codes from theoretical sampling.

58

Figure 3.3 – The Iterative Process of Theoretical Samples

3.6.1 Defining Categories through Revised Code and Identifying Meaning
Obtaining meaningful information from the transcriptions involved interpreting what
each sentence’s meaning was. To execute this, the sentence had to be read along with the
entire response to the question. This allowed the true meaning of the sentence to be
understood. Otherwise, reading a standalone sentence maybe misinterpreted based on
59

opposing content within its paragraph (Rennie, 2000). For example, the following sentence
seems explicit; “Nonetheless, changing the channel is easy for the users with a remote control.”
In this sentence, it appears that the changing the channel is easy for all users. However, the
paragraph which houses the sentence reads, “In the 1970’s, TV remote controls were easy to
use because of the limited number of buttons to choose from, therefore decreasing the
complicity of the remote. Additionally, TV remotes allowed the user to stay in the comfort of
the couch or chair. Today, with the advancement of technology, remotes have become more
complicated, often confusing the user as how to change the channel with an increasing number
of unnecessary bottoms. Nonetheless, changing the channel is easy for the users with a remote
control.” With the information included in the paragraph, several categories and relationships
emerge. First, changing the channel by using a remote makes it easier for the user as long as he
or she understands how to use the buttons. Therefore, not all remotes will make channel
changing easy. Second, by making it easy to change the channel, to what extent does the
interviewee imply? It appears that the interviewee means easy in the terms of the user not
having to manually change the channel of the TV on the TV box. Lastly, it appears that the more
advanced the remote, the less practical it becomes. Without the content presented in the
paragraph, a standalone sentence has the potential to be misinterpreted. Once the meaning
was identified from the transcription, it could be theoretically sampled.
3.6.2 Theoretical Sampling
According to Bartlett and Payne (1997), theoretical sampling is the processes of
developing categories further by sampling relevant categories. This again is an iterative process
that involves identifying categories in an earlier dataset and then testing those categories

60

against new preceding datasets. However, this does not mean the original primary questions
were ignored. Just the opposite; the primary questions were further probed for meaning on the
account of emergent categories from former dataset. For this research process, theoretical
sampling occurred two times; once after every four interviews. Therefore, when four interviews
were completed, they were coded, saturated, and revised as explained in Chapter 3.5.3 and
3.5.4. The categories that emerged from the four interviews were asked in the next series of
four interviews. This procedure continued until all the desired interviews were completed.
When this process is complete it creates a master code book (Appendix C) of which each
transcription is tested against.
3.6.2 Axial Coding the Dataset
According to Bartlett and Payne (1997), axial coding is when relationships between the
established categories are identified and tested against the data. The linkages and relationships
between the categories allow the researcher to reduce the number of categories into a more
cohesive meaning. Strauss and Corbin (1990) urge the researcher to familiarize themselves with
the literature to identify meaning within the data. However, Glaser (1978) claims that when the
researcher familiarizes themselves with the data they are sensitizing themselves to interpreting
the data and the relationships in a biased manner towards that familiarity and not towards new
relationships. Fortunately for this topic, little research exists that comprehensively examines
the roles of the airport before, during, and after a disaster. However, extensive literature exists
on system vulnerability and resiliency (Chapter 2). Consequently, both Strauss and Corbin’s
(1990) and Glaser’s (1970) grounded theory philosophies apply to this research; Strauss and
Corbin’s (1990) in the sense that formularization with the literature on such topics as

61

vulnerability and resiliency; Glaser’s (1978) in the sense that not familiarization on the
literature of airports roles before, during, or after a disaster because, minimal research exists
on the topic. Either way, qualitative data contains meaning, but additional meaning is
dependent on how the researcher reorganizes it, which is based on both Strauss and Corbin’s
(1990) and Glaser’s (1978) theories about data sensitively. After the data was coded through
axial coding, then theoretical integration could occur.
3.7 Pre – Grounded Theory Analyzes
While all the previously discussed steps to formulating a grounded theory provide a preanalysis, Dey (1993), suggests that a matrix of the qualitative data can provide additional help in
reducing the amount of variables within the dataset to a list of more significant variables. This
process is conducted by analyzing frequencies of categories and then reducing the categories.
The resulting matrix is useful for determining how to formulate categories for further analysis
(Appendix P). Similarly, this process is can provide insight into narrowing the range of
formulating a grounded theory. To construct the matrix, Dey (1993) suggests using the
categories presented in the saturated data (Appendix C). The question remains as to how or
what constitutes categories as having meaning?
3.8 Grounding the Theory
The pre-grounded theory analysis provided a useful interpretation of the data to allow a
transition into Bartlett and Payne’s (1997) approach to grounding the theory. This process is the
last iterative step before a grounded theory emerges and is tested. Figure 3.4 displays the last
iterative process of Bartlett and Payne’s (1997) method for establishing a grounded theory in
qualitative data.
62

Figure 3.4 – The Iterative Process of Grounded Theory

3.8.1 Theoretical Integration from the Axial Coding
According to Bartlett and Payne (1997) theoretical integration is when a primary
category is related to all subcategories that has explanatory meaning. In other words, meaning
is established between links of existing theory provided by theoretical sampling and axial
coding.

63

3.8.2 Grounded Theory Data Analyses
The last step in Bartlett and Payne’s (1997) grounded theory procedure is to produce a
grounded theory and test it against actual segments of transcription, therefore cementing the
relationships within the data. This step, similar to previous steps, involves creating meaning in
the grounded theory that is inscribed into the data provided by the research participants, as
shown in Figure 3.4. The accumulation of knowledge from the coded interviews allows certain
recommendations to be concluded.
3.9 Research Rationale
Combining these two series of questions infuses resiliency capacity and vulnerabilities
concepts of airports to the needs of a community. This combination leads to several positive
results. First, airports’ can identify preciously what their role is and what their role needs to be.
The identification of their role before a hazard strikes will lead to the diminishing effects of the
likelihood of a disastrous experience. For example, FEMA officials and airport officials both have
their ideas as to what the role of an airport is during hazard and disaster prevention, response,
and recovery. However, these ideas may not coincide with each other. The various perceptions
of defining the airports’ role for disaster adaptation and preparedness has never been
examined before and therefore could lead to outcomes that help decrease disaster fatalities
and increase recovery response. Second, identifying the role of the airport can lead to
recognizing its operational and infrastructural weakness. Therefore, appropriate adaptation
policies can be recommended for creating a more resilient airport when encountering disasters.
Additional research data provides a framework for how supportive the airport’s role is or
should be for a surrounding community. The resulting information is further described in the
data analysis chapter.
64

3.10 Limitations to the Methodology
While qualitative data analysis contains rich information, it does possess certain intrinsic
limitations. First, not all interviewees possess the same knowledge about the subject.
Therefore, some interviews are richer with data, while others respond to the question naively
(Marshall, 1996). Second, the interpretation of the research participants’ responses may be
questioned due to the process of interpretation being subjective. Third, despite interviewing 13
research participants, the view of the airport’s role may have been different if the number of
research participants had increased or decreased because, the categories, their meaning, and
their relationship may have been different. Lastly, the theoretical coding is based on the
sequential categories developed in one data series and tested in another data series.
Depending on the perspective of the research participants in the initial data series
3.11 Chapter Summary
Chapter 3 provides a framework for executing the research. It states that the research is
conducted by first determining how airports are vulnerable to hurricane hazards. Research
participants were selected based on their employment sector: government, airport, or
consultant and their exposure to hurricanes, blizzards, or tornadoes. Once determined, a
grounded theory was constructed. The grounded theory was produced using Bartlett and
Payne’s (1997) approach for analyzing qualitative data to formulate a theoretical grounding.
These authors suggest that the researcher use the following proceeding steps:
1. Collecting the data through interviews
2. Transcribe the data
3. Develop open coding categories
65

4. Saturate the categories
5. Defining categories
6. Theoretical sampling
7. Axial coding
8. Theoretical integration
9. Grounding the theory
Questions for the selected research participants involved two types of questions: “is”
and “should” questions in a semi-structured, counterpoised interview process. The “is”
questions provide information on the current role of the airport. The “should” questions
provide information on what the potential role of the airport could be. This information was
coded or categorized and saturated based on those questions and sub-categories of adaptation
concepts. Then the coded information was analyzed by finding linkages and relationships
among the categories through theoretical sampling and axial coding. One qualitative method
was used to provide background information on the interviews by using Dey’s (1993)
suggestion of a matrix to locate and determine significant variables. Utilizing the
aforementioned procedures, a grounded materialized.

66

Chapter-4
RESULTS

67

4.1 Introduction
After the data was recorded into Word and Excel, it was analyzed using Bartlett and
Payne’s (1997) approach for analyzing qualitative data. The quantitative data was analyzed by
creating a matrix (Dey, 1993). This matrix provided useful background information on the
categories within the interviews. After the categories were extrapolated from the matrix, a
grounded theory could be constructed. This was based on the theoretical work of Strauss and
Corbin’s (1990 and 2007) grounded theory approach but applied using Bartlett and Payne’s
(1997) step-by-step approach.
4.2 Pre-Grounded Theory Analysis Results
Using a suggestion derived from Dey (1993), results of the pre-analysis can be viewed in
Appendix P. These results were allocated to the appendix for the sake of data communication
simplicity. Dey (1993), suggests that pre-analysis data, which is often sifted through numerous
times to extrapolate underlying themes, is too complex to be effectively communicated. The
complexity derives from the pre-analysis in its entirety; because it contains large quantities of
categories to be analyzed. Therefore, a large portion of the pre-analysis has been placed within
the appendix of this thesis. However, the main categories that emerged include: the
relationship between the airport and the surrounding community, airport infrastructure,
evacuations, and disaster recovery. More specifically, the categories include:


The airport and surrounding community in partnership for hazard and disaster response
and recovery;

68



The airport and surrounding community working without a partnership for hazard and
disaster response and recovery;



The vulnerability of airport infrastructure in hazard and disaster response and recovery;



The use of airports for evacuations from hazards and disasters; and



The airport as a means to provide disaster recovery.

Each one of the aforementioned categories was a reoccurring theme of the pre-analysis, which
supports the grounded theory result produced by Bartlett and Payne’s (1997) procedure for
analyzing qualitative data.
4.2 Research Participant Profile
The interviews were composed of 13 individuals that are professionals in either aviation,
government, or consultant sectors that specialized in emergency preparedness and/or response
and airports. Table 4.1 displays the research participants, their occupation, and their
occupation location.
Table 4.1 – Research Participant Profile

Research
Participant

Occupation

Location

Tim Philips

Consultant

Montana

Don Griffith

Consultant

North Carolina

Stephanie Ward

Consultant

Michigan

Hud Hopkins

Airport Official

Texas

69

Specialization
Owner: Critical Path
Inc.
Airport Operations
Manager: Innovative
Emergency
Management
Aviations Manager:
Mead and Hunt
Airport Manager:
Scholes International
Airport

Table 4.1 (Cont’d)

Research
Participant
Jim Smith

Occupation
Professor and
Consultant
County Government
Emergency Planner

Location

Specialization

West Virginia

Researcher: American
Public University
Jeff Copeland
Florida
Interim Director:
Hillsbourgh County of
Emergency
Management
Anthony Williams
Airport Official
Louisiana
Chief of Police
Department of Baton
Rouge Airport
James Duncan
Federal Government
FEMA Region IV (IL,
Federal Preparedness
Emergency Planner
IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)
Coordinator: FEMA
Region IV
Robert Guevara
Airport Official
Texas
Airport Operations
Manager: Hobby
International Airport
John Glass
Airport Official
Pennsylvania
Airport Operations
Superintendent:
Philadelphia Airport
Andy Singhas
Airport Official
Georgia
Airport Operations
Manager: Savannah
International Airport
Derrec Becker
State Emergency
South Carolina
Public Information
Manager
Officer: South
Carolina Emergency
Management Division
Allen Porter
City Emergency
Texas
Emergency Planner:
Manager
City of Houston
Data regarding the aviation perspective of airports and disasters was composed of 6
research participants (46%) whom specialized in airport manager/director, airport operations
director. Data regarding the governmental perspective of airports and disaster was composed
of 4 research participants (30%) whom stemmed from city managers, FEMA region directors,
county emergency planning director, and state emergency management director and
specialized in emergency preparedness and/or response. Data regarding the consult
perspective of airports and disaster were composed of 3 research participants (24%) that
70

specialized in aviation and disaster planning. Once the interviews were completed, they were
transcribed.
4.3 Transcribing the Interviews
The data was transcribed according to the recorded questions asked from the
researcher and responses from the participants. The transcriptions ranged from 6-15 pages,
depending on length of answers the participants provided or the need for further questions
from the researcher. For the sake of report length, the transcriptions have been removed from
the thesis.
4.4 Developing Open Coded Categories
Open coded categories were assigned based on themes and meaning present in the
interviews after the transcriptions were viewed. The open coded categories are based on the
overall meaning of the interview not necessarily a specific sentence. Table 4.2 contains the
open code results. The open coded categories were determined after several passages through
the transcriptions. More bluntly, the open coded categories relate to the research question of
determining what the airport’s role is before, during, and after a disaster. Therefore, the open
coded categories revolve around the main questions asked to the research participants, as
shown in Table 4.2. However, as discussed in Chapter 3.5.2, these questions are centered on
two concepts of knowing the airport’s role in a given situations; that is, what the airport’s role
“IS” and what the airport’s role “SHOULD BE”.

71

Table 4.2 – Open Coded Categories
The airports
The airports
The airports
role in response role in
role in
to a natural
response to a
recovery from
hazard
natural
a natural
disaster
hazard

The airports
role in
recovery from
a natural
disaster

While there only appears to be 4 categories for the open coded questions, the reality
these questions represent two sets of qualitative information; the “is” and the “should be”
datasets of information. Therefore, the open coded categories in Table 4.2 can be further
coded into the “is” by using what the current role of the airport is before, during, and after a
disaster. Likewise, the categories in Table 4.2 can be further coded into the “should be” by
relating the information to what the research participant believes the airport’s role needs to be.
Table 4.3 and 4.4 show the open coded category for the “is” and the “should”, respectively.
Table 4.3 – Open Coded Categories for the Current Role of the Airport
Airport’s
Airport’s
Airport’s current Airport’s
current role current role in
role in recovery
current role in
in response response to a
from a natural
recovery from a
to a natural natural disaster hazard
natural disaster
hazard
Table 4.4 – Open Coded Categories what needs to be the Role of the Airport
What needs to What needs to
What needs to
What needs to
be the airports be the airports be the airports be the airports
role in
role in response role in recovery role in recovery
response to a
to a natural
from a natural
from a natural
natural hazard disaster
hazard
disaster
However, after several passages through the data, additional meaning emerged that
represented diverging ideologies of viewing the airports’ role. These two ideologies are based
on if the research participant believed the airport acted in an independent nature before,

72

during, and after a disaster or hazard or if the research participant believed the airport would
actively seek cooperation and coordination with the surrounding community. Therefore,
another open coded category was examined on the bases of the aforementioned. Themes
continued to be identified within the data through a process called data code saturation
(Chapter 3.5.1).
4.5 Saturated Data
Data saturation involved utilizing the open codes (categories) and expanding on them
until no further data was identified. The saturated data can be viewed in Figure 4.1. Then the
saturated code book was utilized to find that particular meaning within the research
participant’s response. The saturated datasets for each research participant can be viewed in
Appendix D – P.

73

Figure 4.1 – Saturated Code Book
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. Establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Airlines
ii. Evacuations
iii. Bring in Supplies
iv. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts

74

Figure 4.1 (cont’d)
i. Bring in recovery supplies
ii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iii. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
iv. Mutual Aid between airports
v. Evacuations
vi. Dependent on airport infrastructure
vii. Coordinate with governments
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
viii. Respond to any disaster needs
ix. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Practice disaster scenarios
v. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter

75

Figure 4.1 (cont’d)
a. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure

76

Figure 4.1 (cont’d)
1. Concerns
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Communicate Information
iv. Preparation
v. Mutual Aid
vi. Shelter
4. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
iv. Assessment
c. Limited Role
i. Dependent on airport
5. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government

77

Figure 4.1 (cont’d)
i. Utilizing available resources
ii. Become operational as quickly as possible
iii. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
iv. Shelter
4. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

Data beyond the detail of Figure 4.2 does little to explain further meaning of the
dataset. It is apparent from Figure 4.2 that certain categories were saturated more than others.
For example, category 1ai (The airport should act dependently through coordination) contains
numerous sub-categories (ie., coordination with local, state, and/or federal governments),
which suggests that the research participants could describe detailed information in category 1.
Conversely, category 8a and 8b do not entail as much detail in the saturated data because no
further meaning could be derived out of the data. The category with more detail or saturation
usually contains more meaning behind the data (Lyons and Coyle, 2007) in comparison to a
category that is less saturated. After the categories are saturated they can be compared to each
other.

78

4.6 Revised Codes and Axial Coding
After the open coded categories were identified, each transcription was examined for
information and meaning regarding each saturated code. The meaning found within each
interview was more comprehensive than the saturated coded category yet; its meaning is not
disconnected with the saturated coded category. For example, a section of the saturated code
contains interviewee information on either the airport should act independently from the
community or in cooperation. Therefore, the revised code is simply identifying the relationship.
Furthermore, this meaning is not an exact quote from the transcriptions. Table 4.5 displays the
revised codes from each transcription in the left column and each interviewee’s respective view
of the revised code. These tables become useful when constructing relationships between
categories within each interview. The views in the proceeding tables have been encrypted to
protect the research participants.

79

Table 4.5 – Revised Coded Categories for Research Participants

Research
Participant

1

2

3

Occupation
Airport and
Community
relationship

Consultant
Create cooperative
relationships

Consultant
Respond to
community

Airport Evacuation

Emergency
evacuations
Possible housing
Lifeline for community
for recovery supplies;
emergency
evacuation
Airplane and airport
cargo mismatch
Nothing

Nothing

Consultant
Airports are being forced to
coordinate with
communities but don’t
want to participate.
Used for evacuations

Nothing
Nothing

nothing
Get airport operational

Minimize
physical damage
Keep flying until
impossible

Protect the infrastructure

Airport Shelter
Airport Staging Area

Airport’s Critical
Infrastructure
Airport Operations

Research
Participant
Occupation
Airport and
Community
relationship
Airport Evacuation
Airport Shelter
Airport Staging Area

Airport’s Critical
Infrastructure
Airport Operations

4
Airport Manager
As a lifeline for the
community
Evacuate vulnerable
groups
nothing

Operations are limited in
disaster but still operable

5
Airport manager
Community can take
care of itself after a
disaster
Only for outbound
passengers
Airport vehicles if
necessary
Do not want to
provide FEMA the
space necessary for
use
1st runway and
airfield. 2nd terminal

FEMA Uses the
airport for supplies
introduction and
distribution
Infrastructure
needed after
disaster
Resume Operations Use the airport for
quickly after disaster airport business

80

6
Airport Manager
To have the community
get the airport up and
running
Emergency flight
Not enough resources
Used for federal
response

Runway issues with
incoming airplanes
Can handle the
additional flights

Table 4.5 (cont’d)

Research
Participant

7

8

Occupation

Airport Operations

Airport Operations

Airport and
Community
relationship
Airport
Evacuation
Airport Shelter

As a life line for
communities

As a life line for
communities

Airport Staging
Area
Airport’s Critical
Infrastructure

Airport
Operations

Mass Evacuations

No plans exist for airport
and community evacuation
Employee’s families
Not wanted but could
have stayed at an
happen in extreme
airport but that is it
situations
As a center for supply Used for emergency
distribution
vehicles; supply
distribution site
The airport is a
Power, airfield is clear,
resource filled with
Hangers and drainage
critical infrastructure
for recovery
Get back to normal
Restoring operations as
operations as quickly quickly as possible
as possible

81

9
Director of County
Emergency
Management
To operate as an
airport for morale
Incoming evacuees
from hazard areas
Hindered by need to
be operational
Use available
resources for staging
recovery supplies
Protect infrastructure
for aircraft and airport
material
Restoring operations
as quickly as possible

Table 4.5 (cont’d)

Research
Participant

10

11

12

Occupation

Airport
Operations

FEMA Region
IV Director

Airport and
Community
relationship

Coordinate
efforts
between all
government
levels
Incoming
evacuees
from hazard
areas
Nothing

Coordinate
efforts
between all
government
levels
Evacuate
survivors

Nothing

Not at
commercial
airports

Airport’s
Critical
Infrastructure

Retrofit
buildings to
make them
stronger

Airport
Operations

Restoring
operations as
quickly as
possible

Retrofitting
buildings.
Making sure
they have
power
Restoring
operations as
quickly as
possible

Airport
Evacuation

Airport
Shelter
Airport
Staging Area

13

City Emergency
Management
Director
Communication
linkages between
the two

Incoming evacuees
from hazard areas;
evacuate vulnerable
people
Nothing

Nothing

State Emergency
Management
Director
To operate as an
airport for morale

Incoming evacuees
from hazard areas.
Commercial jets not
best fit.
Business volunteers
will house evacuees
Nothing

More for movement
of supplies rather
than storage of
supplies (waypoint)
The entire airport is
critical

Nothing

Runway’s abilities

Restoring operations
as quickly as possible

This research was able to generally compare what the role of the airport is. When
categories emerged about the airport’s role before, during, or after a disaster, a hypothesis
could be formed. When formed, it could be tested in preceding interviews by probing deeper
into the subject. For example, interviews in the earlier stages of data collection were centered
on the concept of understanding if the airport has a role before a disaster. Therefore, the later
stages of data collection were focused on additional probing as to what the aforementioned
82

role entails. At this stage of the results, it is apparent that certain themes, such as infrastructure
play a large role in the airports ability to become resilient. However, a grounded theory still
cannot be constructed. Tables 4.6, 4.7, and 4.8 display the sequential axial coding based on the
interviews and transcriptions.
Table 4.6 – Initial Interviews with Revised Code (Axial Code Group 1)

Research
Participant

2

7

1

Occupation
Airport and
Community
relationship
Airport
Evacuation
Airport
Shelter

Consultant
Respond to
community

Airport Operations
As a life line for
communities

Nothing

Mass Evacuations

Nothing

Airport
Staging Area

Nothing

Employee’s families
have stayed at an
airport but that is it
As a center for supply
distribution

Airport’s
Critical
Infrastructure

Minimize
physical
damage

Airport
Operations

Keep flying
until
impossible

The airport is a
resource filled with
critical infrastructure
for recovery
Get back to normal
operations as quickly
as possible

83

4

Consultant
Create
cooperative
relationships
Emergency
evacuations
Possible housing

Airport Manager
As a lifeline for the
community

Lifeline for
community for
recovery supplies;
emergency
evacuation
Airplane and
airport cargo
mismatch

FEMA Uses the
airport for supplies
introduction and
distribution

Nothing

Resume Operations
quickly after
disaster

Evacuate
vulnerable groups
nothing

Infrastructure
needed after
disaster

Table 4.7 – Second Set of Interviews with Revised Code (Axial Code Group 2)

Research
Participant

3

Occupation

Consultant

Airport and
Community
relationship

Airports are
being forced to
coordinate with
communities
but don’t want
to participate.
Used for
evacuations
nothing

Airport
Evacuation
Airport
Shelter
Airport
Staging Area
Airport’s
Critical
Infrastructure
Airport
Operations

Get airport
operational
Protect the
infrastructure
through
planning
Operations are
limited in
disaster but still
operable

9

6

11

Director of County
Emergency
Management
To operate as an airport
for morale

Airport
Manager

FEMA Region IV
Director

To have the
community
get the
airport up and
running

Coordinate
efforts between
all government
levels

Incoming evacuees from
hazard areas
Hindered by need to be
operational
Use available resources
for staging recovery
supplies
Protect infrastructure
for aircraft and airport
material

Emergency
flight
Not enough
resources
Used for
federal
response
Runway
issues with
incoming
airplanes
Can handle
the additional
flights

Evacuate
survivors
Nothing

Restoring operations as
quickly as possible

84

Not at
commercial
airports
Retrofitting
buildings. Making
sure they have
power
Restoring
operations as
quickly as
possible

Table 4.8 – Last Set of Interviews with Revised Code (Axial Code Group 3)

Research
Participant

8

Occupation

Airport
Operations

Airport and
Community
relationship

As a life line
for
communities

Airport
Evacuation

No plans
exist for
airport and
community
evacuation

Airport
Shelter

10
Airport
Operations

5
Airport
Manager

13

State
Emergency
Management
Director
Coordinate Community
To operate as
efforts
can take care an airport for
between all of itself after morale
governmen a disaster
t levels
Incoming
Only for
Incoming
evacuees
outbound
evacuees
from
passengers
from hazard
hazard
areas.
areas
Commercial
jets not best
fit.
Nothing
Airport
Business
vehicles if
volunteers
necessary
will house
evacuees

12
City Emergency
Management
Director
Communication
linkages between
the two for
coordination of
airport services
Incoming evacuees
from hazard areas;
evacuate
vulnerable people

Not wanted
Nothing
but could
happen in
extreme
situations
Airport
Used for
Nothing
Do not want Nothing
More for
Staging
emergency
to provide
movement of
Area
vehicles;
FEMA the
supplies rather
supply
space
than storage of
distribution
necessary for
supplies
site
use
(waypoint)
st
Airport’s
Power,
Retrofit
1 runway
Runway’s
The entire airport
Critical
airfield is
buildings to and airfield.
abilities
is critical
Infrastructu clear,
make them 2nd terminal
re
Hangers and stronger
drainage
Airport
Restoring
Restoring
Use the
Restoring
To be used for
Operations operations
operations airport for
operations as assisting the city in
as quickly as as quickly
airport
quickly as
preparation of
possible
as possible business
possible
incoming disasters
According to Tables 4.6, 4.7, and 4.8, the progression of information throughout the
sequential interviews of axial coding displays certain themes present in the data. It is apparent,

85

throughout the axial coding, that certain categories are more detailed than others. In table 4.6,
the revised categories are fairly vague. This is due to the nature of axial coding being initially
general and then becoming more focused on a theory. Therefore, Table 4.8 provides the most
specific responses. However, this does not mean the initial interviews can be disregarded or do
not provide meaning to the theory. When the final axial coding was completed and the code
book was further updated, then all the interviews were examined for categories based on the
updated code and the process of generating a grounded theory was restarted. When all the
interviews were completed using axial coding, theoretical integration could occur.
4.7 Theoretical Integration on the Role of the Airport using Axial Coding
The revised categories were further explored to identify reasoning for their existence.
Tables 4.9 – Table 4.14; identify limitations and promotions of each research participant’s
perspective on the revised code. This information sheds light onto where airports and
communities need additional support for increasing resiliency. For example, one interviewee
may believe the relationship of the community and the airport is to act in a partnership before,
during, and after a disaster. They may believe it is a necessary role for the airport because
airports can fundamentally rebound quicker from a disaster, in comparison to a community.
However, they may believe that this role is limited on the bases of the airport’s responsibility to
foster airline services.
4.7.1 The Airport’s Relationship with the Community in Hazardous or Disastrous
Events
The relationship between the airport and the community is divided between the airport
acting independently from the community, the airport acting in cooperation with the

86

community, and the airport acting independently but providing benefits when available, as
indicated in Table 4.9.
Table 4.9 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport and Community
Relationship in Times of Hazards or Disasters

Research
Participant

Relationship

1

Create cooperative
relationships

2

Respond to community

3

Airports are being
forced to coordinate
with communities but
don’t want to
participate.
As a lifeline for the
community

4

5

6

7

8

9

Community can take
care of itself after a
disaster
To have the community
get the airport up and
running but provide aid
As a life line for
communities

To operate as an
airport but provide
additional services if
able
To operate as an
airport but provide
additional services if
able

Relationship
Limitations

Relationship
Promotion

Dependent on
infrastructure
performance and
perceptions of
community
Need to get the airport
operational
Dependent on
perceptions of
community and airport

To help with the recovery
effort by bringing in
supplies

Dependent on ability of
the airport to operate

To help with the recovery
effort by bringing in
supplies
A functional airport
provides a sense of
security to the community
A functional airport
provides a sense of
security to the community
SEADOG can help get
airport’s infrastructure
fixed for initial recovery

Dependent on the
infrastructure damaged
Dependent on the
infrastructure damaged
Dependent on
infrastructure. Should
be limited to initial
recovery
The airport is to operate
as an airport unless
needed otherwise and
can perform those tasks
The airport is to operate
as an airport unless
needed otherwise and
can perform those tasks

87

To take a lead role in
recovery efforts
To assist in disaster
recovery

Can provide empty
available space for
recovery operations
Can provide empty
available space for
recovery operations

Table 4.9 (cont’d)

Research
Participant
10

11

12

13

Relationship
Limitations

Relationship
Promotion

It is up to FAA for the
airports role in the
disaster
Non-commercial
airports respond to
the local need
Dependent on ability
to communicate

The airport needs to
get back and running

Relationship
Coordinate efforts
between all
government levels
Coordinate efforts
between all
government levels
Communication
linkages between the
two for coordination
of airport services
To operate as an
airport for morale

Dependent on the
infrastructure
damaged

Working commercial
airport stimulates the
economy
Coordination of
evacuations,
responses, and
recovery
A functional airport
provides a sense of
security to the
community

Table 4.10 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport and Community
Relationship Before, During, and After Hazards or Disasters

Research
Participant
1

2
3
4
5
6

7

Before

During

Plan on infrastructure
adaptation with the
community in mind; discuss
airport’s operational status
N/A
Plan for a relationship before
hazard or disaster strikes

After

N/A

N/A
N/A

Operate as an airport as long
as possible
Operate as an airport and prep
infrastructure; Be part of the
OEP with the community
Working with local
communities to determine
future problems

Coordinate the movement of
recovery supplies

Get airport operational
Have the airport be a hub for
recovery

N/A
Protect
infrastructure
N/A

N/A

88

Get the airport operation as
quickly as possible
Get the airport operation as
quickly as possible
Get airport operational;
provide additional roles if
necessary and able

Table 4.10 (cont’d)

Research
Participant
8

Before
Have a plan in place
with local community
and tenets
Operate as an airport
as long as possible

During

After

N/A

Get the airport
operation as quickly
as possible
9
N/A
Provide space for
recover supplies if
able
10
Coordinate with all
N/A
Get the airport
levels of government
operation as quickly
as possible
11
Local government and N/A
Get the airport
airport mitigate
operation as quickly
disaster effects
as possible
12
Airport closures.
Infrastructure failures Coordination of
recovery abilities
13
Operate as an airport Protect infrastructure Get the airport
as long as possible
operation as quickly
as possible
When airports act independently from the community, they are often viewed selfishly in the
sense that their sole concern is to become operational with no additional roles. This is due to
several research participants believing that the airport can better provide for the community
through the creation of “everyday” normalcy or a sense of security.
When airports are in cooperation with the community, they often require vast amounts
of planning and coordination to achieve mutual benefits. Several interviewees felt that an
airport-community relationship was a more responsible method for community recovery from a
disaster because it immediately brings in recovery supplies. Therefore, they believed that this
function would create a sense of normalcy. To achieve this though, airports and communities
must plan appropriately to diminish taxing effects of disaster recovery on normal airport

89

operations; otherwise, adding an additional role to the airport is futile. Similarly, the airport, if
planned properly, can have dual roles when confronted with a hazard or disaster.
Lastly, several interviewees believed that the airport could function in dual roles,
depending on its aviation capacity. Acting in dual roles, the airport’s main objective is still to
become operational as quickly as possible but with the potential to become more than just an
airport. Before serving dual roles, the airport carefully assesses itself as to whether it is able to
provide recovery services to the surrounding community. If the airport is able to provide
services to the community, besides normal airline services, it should assess the capacity
potential. Some of these airport-community services may include evacuating nearby citizens.
4.7.2 Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport for Evacuation
There are two main themes for the airport acting in favor of evacuations: evacuating the
surrounding community and evacuating communities from afar. In both cases, the airport plays
a role of which is mostly dependent on the resiliency of the present infrastructure and the
capacity of the airports facilities. Table 4.11 and Table 12 display each interviewee’s perspective
on evacuations via the airport.

90

Table 4.11 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport for Evacuation

Evacuation

Evacuation Limitations

1

Emergency
evacuations

2
3

6

Nothing
Used for
evacuations
Evacuate
vulnerable groups
Only for outbound
stranded
passengers
Emergency flight

7

Mass Evacuations

N/A

8

Evacuations with
community does
not exist
Incoming evacuees
from hazard areas

N/A

4
5

9

10

Incoming evacuees
from hazard areas

11

Evacuate Survivors

12

Incoming evacuees
from hazard areas;
evacuate
vulnerable people
Airports for
incoming evacuees
from hazard areas.
Automobile for
community
evacuees

13

Evacuation Promotion

Communities poor perception
of airports as a tool and vice
versa (i.e., airports are
independent entities)
N/A
People have to be able to get
to the airport
Dependent on if the airport is
operational
Dependent on if the airport is
operational

Can be vital for people in
need of fast evacuation
transportation

Airport may not be functional

Quickest way for
evacuations
Precautionary evacuation
when airport is not damaged
Might be able to exist if
needed

Dependent on facilities and
operations to handle vast
amount of people
Dependent on infrastructure
and operations to handle vast
amount of people
Dependent on infrastructure
and ability to operate
Dependent on facilities and
operations to handle vast
amount of people
Dependent on facilities and
operations to handle vast
amount of people; airport too
slow for local community

91

N/A
Fastest way for people to
evacuate
Can operate quicker than
other modes
Airport can operate more
efficiently

Provide asylum to
endangered people
Provide asylum to
endangered people
Convenient cargo for
outbound air traffic
Provide asylum to
endangered people; can
operate quicker than other
modes
Provide asylum to
endangered people;
automobiles are faster for
local community

Table 4.12 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport for Evacuation Before,
During, and After a Hazard or Disaster

Before

During

1

Planning for evacuation

N/A

2
3

N/A
N/A

N/A
N/A

4

N/A

N/A

5

Evacuate outbound
stranded passengers
N/A
Evacuation of mass
groups
N/A
N/A

N/A

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

After
Evacuation of medical
care people
N/A
Evacuate people after the
disaster
Evacuate people after the
disaster
N/A

N/A
N/A

Evacuations
Evacuation of medical
care people
N/A
N/A
N/A
Set up facilities for
incoming evacuees
N/A
N/A
Set up facilities for
incoming evacuees
N/A
N/A
Evacuate Survivors
Evacuate people and
N/A
Set up facilities for
businesses
incoming evacuees
N/A
N/A
Set up facilities for
incoming evacuees
The airport evacuating the surrounding community appears to be based on evacuating

disaster victims following the disaster. Evacuations after this disaster are based on the
infrastructure status of the airport and the community. The failure of one of those
infrastructures can yield the airport useless. Few interviewees believed that evacuations should
occur before the hazard arrives. This because this portion of interviewees believed that the
airport would be too busy preparing itself for the disaster in addition to airline companies
evacuating their aircrafts, thus rendering pre-hazard evacuations via airports implausible.
A large portion of the interviewees believed that the airport’s function was to provide asylum
for evacuees from disaster areas outside of the immediate airport’s community. Areas under
92

distress from hazards or disaster are evacuating victims via airplanes and airports for the sake
of providing asylum. During this time, the airport needs to present facilities for the processing
of evacuees and the necessary infrastructure to handle the capacity. Once people are
evacuated from the dangers of the hazard or disaster, through the airport, they are often
housed in areas outside the airport.
4.7.3 Research Participant’s perspective on the Airport as a Shelter
There are two views the interviewees had on the airport acting as shelter: the airport
will house employees and their families for the purpose of providing a quick bounce back from
the hazard or disaster and the airport should concentrate solely on airline operations during the
disaster. Table 4.13 and Table 4.14 depict the views of the interviewees on the airport as a
shelter.
Table 4.13 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport as a Shelter

Shelter
1

2
3
4
5

6

Shelter Limitations

Shelter Promotion

Houses employees;
Possible housing
for community
Nothing
nothing
Airport employees

May not be safe

Can store disaster supplies and
has space

N/A
N/A
For airport employees

Not desired for the
public but ok for
employees
Provide shelter to
those who are
trapped

Airport wants to be
operational and it would
require too many resources
Airport wants to be
operational and it would
require too many resources

N/A
N/A
Employees work better knowing
family is safe
Extreme case, a hanger maybe
used for public

93

Part of their plan for stranded
passengers

Table 4.13 (cont’d)

Shelter
Limitations

Shelter
7

Airport employees

Limited staffing

8

Not desired for the
public but ok for
employees

9
10
11

Nothing
Nothing
Nothing

Airport wants to be
operational and it
would require too
many resources
N/A
N/A
N/A

12
13

Nothing
Business volunteers
will house evacuees

N/A
Businesses may not
want evacuees

Shelter Promotion
Employees work
better knowing family
is safe
Extreme case, a
hanger maybe used
for public
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Provides additional
shelters to evacuees

Table 4.14 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport as a Shelter Before,
During, and After a Hazard or Disaster

Before
1
2
3
4

N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

5

House employees

6

Part of their plan

7

N/A

8

House employees

9
10
11
12
13

N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

During
N/A
N/A
N/A
Maintain airport for
24/7
Maintain airport for
24/7
Resources available
Maintain airport for
24/7
Maintain airport for
24/7
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

94

After
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Quick bounce back from
disaster
Shouldn’t exist, too many
resources would be tied up
Employees and families
housed at airport
Quick bounce back from
disaster
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A

Table 4.13 displays each research participant’s perspective on the airport acting as a
sheltering device. Research participants who believed the airport should act in favor of
operations instead of housing evacuees or employees and their families tend to think that the
airport as not suitable for any type of shelter. Those interviewees who discussed the airport
operating as a shelter for employees and their families believed that this was one method for
increasing the airports ability to quickly recover for two reasons. First, employees staying at the
airport during the duration of hazard or disaster are able to monitor and assess the airport’s
infrastructure and operational status. Secondly, employees are able to work more efficiently
with the ease of mind knowing their family is nearby and safe within the makeshift shelter of
the airport. However, any additional sheltered victims could be detrimental to the quick
recovery of the airport following the passage of the hazard event.
4.7.4 Research Participant’s Perspective of the Airport as a Staging Area Following
the Hazard
Many research participants are torn between the airport acting as only a waypoint for
incoming supplies, which are then rerouted towards areas of need, or if the airport is an active
player is providing space for command operations following a disaster or hazard. Table 4.15,
denotes the perspective outcomes of the airport acting as a staging area. Table 4.16 displays
those perspectives, either before, during, or after a hazard or disaster.

95

Table 4.15 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport as a Staging Area
Following the Hazard

Staging Area
1

2
3

4

5

6

Lifeline for community for
recovery supplies;
emergency evacuation
Nothing
Get airport operational then
provide aid

FEMA Uses the airport for
supplies introduction and
distribution
More for movement of
supplies rather than storage
of supplies (waypoint)
Used for federal response

7

As a center for supply
distribution

8

Could become staging area
for emergency vehicles and
supplies
Use available resources for
staging recovery supplies
Nothing
Not at commercial airports

9
10
11
12

More for movement of
supplies rather than storage
of supplies (waypoint)

13

Get airport operational

Staging Area
Limitations

Staging Area
Promotion

Lack of cargo
equipment
compatibility
N/A
Aid comes in too fast
crippling the airport or
aid cannot leave the
airport
Desire to bring in
airliners after a disaster

Quicker mode and less
uncertainty in damage than
ground transportation
N/A
Fast method for bringing in
supplies

Airport needs the space
to operate effectively

Supplies can be stored as
long as airport is inoperable

Airport may not be
functional after a
disaster
Airport may not be
functional after a
disaster
Airport needs the space
to operate effectively

May be the only means for
incoming supplies

Resources may not be
available
N/A
Airport needs the space
to operate effectively
Airport may not be
functional after a
disaster; outside
infrastructure may be
disabled
Airport may not be
functional after a
disaster

Large amounts of supplies
can be organized
N/A
Can be used as a waypoint
for distribution
Quickly bring in people,
resources to get businesses
operating again

96

Lots of space and concrete
for recovery operations

Immediate response to the
disaster
Large amounts of supplies
can be organized

Use other airfields rather
than commercial airports

Table 4.16 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport as a Staging Area
Before, During, and After a Hazard or Disaster

Before
House employees;
possible housing for
community
N/A
Have plans prepared
for post-disaster events
Keep Equipment safe

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

May not be safe

Can store disaster supplies and
has space

N/A
N/A

N/A
Get airport operational then
provide aid
Establish FEMA command post

Let the airport operate
as an airport
Prepare the airport by
planning
N/A

1

During

Operate as an airport if need and
available provide resources
Mitigate and
Try to be available for recovery
negative impacts supplies
N/A
Recovery aid at first until airport is
operational
N/A
N/A
N/A
Operate as an airport if need and
available provide resources
N/A
N/A
Protect
Distribute supplies and use
equipment and
equipment
supplies
N/A
Coordinate with local government

N/A
Let the airport operate
as an airport
N/A
Send equipment and
supplies there

10
11

12

Coordinate with local
government
N/A

13

Employees stay
at airport

N/A

After

N/A

Some interviewees believed the airport is and should act in favor of providing space and
storage for recovery efforts. This is because the airport possesses large open space and the
facilities for disaster recovery such as, empty hangers and open tarmac. Additionally, the
airport contains a secure environment for the recovery supplies and emergency management
personnel.
Those who believe that the airport should provide a waypoint for the distribution of
supplies and the not the storage of supplies believe so because the airport’s operational
97

capacity may be jeopardized. When additional roles are imposed on the airport, facilities and
infrastructure become taxed, rendering the main function of the airport useless. The
interviewees who shared this opinion believe that the airport does not need to provide such
services because other areas are available for distribution but not available for the introduction
of supplies to a region.
Lastly, few research participants believed that the airport should not provide any
additional service for the community other than normal airport operations. This rational
perspective stems from the belief that other transportation avenues are available for the
introduction of recovery supplies into a region, such as rail, highway, and marina. Additionally,
any introduction of supplies into a region via airport could damper the operations of the
airport. Similarly, storing supplies at the airport would be unnecessarily detrimental to the
operations of the airport because there are other open spaces available for recovery
operations. This suggests that infrastructure plays a critical role in determining the role of the
airport.
4.7.5 Research Participant’s Perspective of the Airport’s Critical Infrastructure
All the research participants believed that the airport should protect its infrastructure to
minimize the ensuing damage that may result from the hazard or disaster. However, the
method for protecting the infrastructure varies among interviewees. Some believe that
retrofitting is the proper approach to ensuring the safety of the equipment and infrastructure
of the airport. This method is an active approach to increasing the resiliency of the
infrastructure, therefore the resiliency of the airport. However, some interviewees believed
that the airport should act as an airport without significant proportions of planning dedicated
98

to infrastructure protection. Table 4.17 displays the view of each interviewee on the airport’s
critical infrastructure. Table 4.18 displays those perspectives, either before, during, or after a
hazard or disaster

99

Table 4.17 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport’s Critical
Infrastructure

Critical
Infrastructure
1

It needs to be
identified more
comprehensively

2

Minimize physical
damage
Protect the
infrastructure
Infrastructure needed
after disaster
Protect infrastructure
for aircraft and airport
material
Protect infrastructure
for aircraft and airport
material
The airport is a
resource filled with
critical infrastructure
for recovery
Protect infrastructure
for aircraft and airport
material
Protect infrastructure
for aircraft and airport
material
Retrofit buildings to
make them stronger
Retrofitting buildings.
Making sure they have
power
The entire airport is
critical

3
4
5

6

7

8

9

10
11

12

13

Infrastructure for
airport operations

Critical Infrastructure
Limitations

Critical Infrastructure
Promotion

Staffing absent when
attempting to repair or
clean the airport; lack of
adequate equipment
Can only protect what they
can conceive
When the airport is
misused
Keeping equipment safe
and plenty of fuel
Dependent on the capacity
of infrastructure

The ability to store mass
amounts of supplies

Damage to runways,
taxiways.

ATC not required; large spaces
and multiple runways
available
Movement of supplies to
region when regional
infrastructure is broken

Dependent on
infrastructure

Dependent on the capacity
of infrastructure
Infrastructure can be
damaged

Proper planning can conceive
all hazards
Quicker bounce back from
disaster
Quicker bounce back from
disaster
Quicker bounce back from
hazard or disaster

Quicker bounce back from
hazard or disaster

Airport has space and
buildings which can be
converted into recovery needs
Dependent on the capacity Quicker bounce back from
of infrastructure
hazard or disaster
Runway weight restrictions Quicker bounce back from
and space limits; inside
hazard or disaster
and outside airport
Infrastructure needs
Can provide a more impactful
protection
role for response and recovery
to a community
Runway’s capacity
Can provide response
operations

100

Table 4.18 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport’s Critical
Infrastructure Before, During, and After a Hazard or Disaster

Before

During

1

Do more than plan for
airport operations

N/A

2

Plan for infrastructure
failure
Plan to protect critical
pieces

N/A

3

4

Top off fuel facilities

5

Plan to protect critical
pieces
Protect the
infrastructure
Plan for infrastructure
adaptation and
mitigation
Protect equipment
and aircraft; mitigate
future effects of
disaster
Continue operating as
an airport
Retrofit infrastructure
and mitigate effects
Retrofit vulnerable
buildings and
equipment
Plan with communities

6
7

8

9
10
11

12

After
Cargo equipment, runway length,
airplane equipment such as tires,
staff
N/A

Minimize damages
to fuel systems,
runways, taxiways
Have employee
monitor the facility
N/A
Mitigate damage
N/A

House staff during
disaster for
infrastructure
surveillance
N/A
N/A

Minimize damages to fuel systems,
runways, taxiways
Ration fuel, clear runway and
taxiway
Get open quickly for incoming
recovery supplies
Get open quickly for incoming
recovery supplies
Runway, fuel, electricity, adaptive
infrastructure use (morgue, supply
storage)
Make sure operation can proceed
through safety inspection

If availability exists, provide space
Get open quickly for incoming
recovery supplies
Get open quickly for incoming
recovery supplies

N/A

Keep all disaster
Assess and restore the airport;
players informed of restore the community
progression
13
N/A
N/A
Assess infrastructure
A majority of interviewees believed that protecting the airports infrastructure will provide a
quick bounce back from any negative effects induced by the hazard event. This is because,
when protected, less effort would be exhausted on infrastructure recovery therefore,
operations would resume much quicker. The interviews also provided some information as to
what infrastructure pieces are considered to be critical, including:
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

Runway



Taxiway



Fuel



Staff



Cargo equipment



Electrical equipment

While many other pieces may need protection or updating, the previously listed components
are the most crucial to daily operations and potential recovery efforts.
4.7.6 Research Participant’s Overall Perspective on the Airport
When determining the overall perspective on the airports role, Tables 4.19 – 4.20
provide information in rendering the role. Table 4.19 displays the comprehensive role of the
airport based on each interviewee’s respective response.

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Table 4.19 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport’s Operations

Operations
1

Use the airport as a
resource for community
resiliency

2

Keep flying until
impossible; respond to
community if possible
The airport has a role with
the community for
disaster recovery
Resume Operations
quickly after disaster

3

4

5

Use the airport for airport
business

6

Have airport function as
airport then provide
limited additional roles

7

Get back to normal
operations as quickly as
possible
Use the airport for airport
activates

8

9

Use the airport only if
needed and is available

Operations
Limitations
Airport needs to be
properly planned and
prepared for
additional roles
Depends on damaged
assets
Dependent on the
airports ability to be
operable
Understaffed or too
much debris to clean;
infrastructure
problems
Dependent on
infrastructure and
availability of airport
resources
Dependent on
infrastructure and
availability of airport
resources
Dependent on
infrastructure
Airport needs to be
protected or
improved
Airport may not be
available

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Operations Promotion
Lack of equipment of staff
hinders additional roles for the
airport
Airport are to act as airports
than provide services is needed
and able
Can be the fastest and most
reliable tool for recovery
Has the potential to bounce
back quickly and provide aid

Airport may be the only means
to receive incoming supplies

Airport may be the only means
to receive incoming supplies

Airports are used for serving
airlines
Provide a sense of normalcy for
community
Airport can offer abundant
space and storage

Table 4.19 (cont’d)

Operations
Limitations

Operations
10

Restoring operations
as quickly as possible

11

Restoring operations
as quickly as possible

12

To be used for
assisting the city in
preparation of
incoming disasters
Restoring operations
as quickly as possible

13

Dependent on
infrastructure and
availability of airport
resources
Airport needs to be
protected or
improved
Dependent on if the
airport can be
operational following
a disaster
Dependent on airport
facilities, resources,
and infrastructure.

Operations
Promotion
Provide a sense of
normalcy for
community
Provide a sense of
normalcy for
community
Can provide a quick
bounce back for
community
Provide a sense of
normality

Table 4.20 – Research Participant’s Perspective on the Airport’s Operations Before,
During, and After a Hazard or Disaster

Before
1

2
3

4

5

6

Plan for providing
additional roles to
community
Plan for infrastructure
failure
Proper planning and
preparation for
disaster
Prepare the airport
for a potential
disaster
Plan and prepare
airport for disaster
Act as an airport and
protect infrastructure

During
Protect
infrastructure

After
Become operational and provide
life line services to communities

N/A

Damage assessment and
become operational
Protect equipment Provide aid to communities
and infrastructure
House employees
and their families

Get airport operational and then
help community with recovery.

House employees
for quick bounce
back
Protect and
mitigate
infrastructure for
quick bounce back

Attempt to create a quick
bounce back

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Try to provide additional roles
but not necessary.

Table 4.20 (cont’d)

Before
7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Proper planning and
preparation for
disaster
Plan and prepare
airport for disaster

During

After

House employees
and their families

Get airport operational and
then help community with
recovery.
Monitor
Quick bounce back for
infrastructure
commercial airports, use
alternative spaces for
recovery
Operate as an airport Protect itself
Provide aid only when
requested; use as hub for
repatriating
Plan and prepare
N/A
Quick bounce back for
airport for disaster
commercial airports, use
through retrofitting
alternative spaces for
and mitigation
recovery
Plan and prepare
Protect infrastructure Quick bounce back for
airport for disaster
commercial airports, use
alternative spaces for
recovery
Communicate with all Communicate with
Get airport operational and
disaster players
all disaster players
then help community with
recovery.
Protect infrastructure N/A
Use sources other than
commercial airport for
recovery
In Table 4.20, it is apparent that the majority of interviewees agree that the role of the

airport is to operate as an airport. This view manifests from the belief that the airport’s function
is to transport passengers and cargo; any additional role may hinder the ability for the airport
to operate at full capacity. This is also reinforced by the airport providing asylum to its critical
staff and their families during the hazard event. Such asylum is warranted for the sake of
monitoring the airport’s infrastructure and operations to decrease the time required for
successful reopening of the airport. However, this not the only role the airport can perform.

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Many research participants also believe that the airport can serve two roles through the use of
cooperative planning with local governments.
Many interviewees believe that if planned correctly, the airport can serve the
surrounding community after the airport assesses its infrastructure and becomes operational.
This dual role of the airport depends on its infrastructure capacity and resiliency. If the airport’s
infrastructure is at capacity during the normal airport operations, its role is more limited in
comparison to an airport that does not operate at capacity. Similarly, the airport’s
infrastructure needs to be resilient to the effects of the hazard event. By doing so, the airport
has the opportunity to become operational much quicker after the disaster and as previously
mentioned, if operations are below capacity airport could play a role. However, there are
governmental issues associated with when or how the airport becomes operational following a
disaster.
4.8 Government Agencies Role Airport Operations
Throughout the interviews, key government agencies emerged including: Federal
Emergency Management Association (FEMA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and
Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Table 4.21 identifies the interviewee’s
perspective on government agencies for hazards and disasters.

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Table 4.21 – Research Participant’s Perspective on Government Agencies in times of
Hazards and Disasters

FEMA
1

2
3

4
5
6
7
8

FAA

TSA

Provide financial
support for planning
and supplies for
recovery
N/A
Used to protect the
function of the
airport

A condition for becoming operational

A condition for
becoming operational

N/A
A condition for receiving or closing
commercial airspace. Does not
understand FEMA (NIMS) system.
Some FAA regions require emergency
plans
N/A

N/A
A condition for
becoming operational

FAA relies on SEADOG and WESTDOG
for airport aid
Has control over the airliners

N/A

Use FAA grant money to get build
additional buildings
A condition for receiving or closing of
commercial airspace
N/A
A condition for receiving or closing of
commercial airspace. Follow FAA rules
for how money is spent. FAA
emergency management plan.
N/A

N/A

A condition for receiving or closing of
commercial airspace.
A condition for receiving or closing of
commercial airspace.

A condition for
becoming operational
N/A

Provide recovery
supplies
As an auditor for
after the fact
Provide recovery
supplies
Assessing the
resiliency of airports
N/A

9
10

N/A
The airport should
not rely on FEMA

11

12

Used to protect the
facilities of the
airport. Use airport
for FEMA supplies
N/A

13

To provide assistance

N/A

N/A

N/A
N/A
A condition for
becoming operational

N/A

There are two main views of FEMA during a time of hazards and disasters. One being
that FEMA provides a role in the sense of assessing the airport’s infrastructure and allocating
funds to create a more resilient airport. The other centers on the research participants believe
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that FEMA does not provide a responsibility to the airport for disaster recovery; because their
intention is for financial disaster assistance after the disaster.
The role of the FAA in the time of a hazard or disaster appears to be more focused on
the operational functionality of an airport. The FAA will be the final judge in allowing
commercial aviation to resume at an airport. Likewise, it will be the agency that determines
whether the airspace in and around the airport should be closed. This should not be confused
with the airport’s role of opening and closing. While the FAA decides if the airspace is open or
closed for business and if the airport is suitable for commercial flight, the airport cannot be
forced to open by the FAA. Rather, if the airport deems it necessary to close, a support decision
does not need to be granted by the FAA.
Finally, the TSA is the least discussed topic within the interviews. The interviews that did
discuss the TSA, were focused on it as a condition for which the airport needs to meet to
resume commercial operations.
4.8 Views of the Airport’s Role based on the Perspectives of Consultants, Airport
Officials, and Government Officials
The number and the range of occupations for the interview dataset provided enough
information to compare the different views of each occupation, including: consultants, airport
officials, and government officials. Table 4.22 displays the consultant’s view of the airports role
before, during, or after a disaster. It is apparent that the consultants view the airport as more
than just an airport but rather a tool for the community in disaster recovery. Additionally, they
agree that the airport should become operational as quickly as possible following a hazard or
disaster. To achieve the turnaround necessary for the airport to become operational, the
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consultants suggest to plan and mitigate any negative effects of the hazard on vulnerable
infrastructure. This will ensure that the airport becomes operational quickly and therefore, can
assist in the recovery process of the community. The consultant’s view of the airports role is
much different than the airport officials’ view.
Table 4.22 – Consultant’s Perspective on the Role of the Airport

Occupation

Airport View

1

Consultant

Use the airport as
a resource for
community
resiliency

2

Consultant

3

Consultant

Keep flying until
impossible;
respond to
community if
possible
The airport has a
role with the
community for
disaster recovery

Before

During

After

Plan for
providing
additional
roles to
community
Plan for
infrastructure
failure

Protect
infrastructure

Become
operational and
provide life line
services to
communities
Damage
assessment and
become
operational

Proper
planning and
preparation
for disaster

Protect
equipment
and
infrastructure

N/A

Provide aid to
communities

Unlike the consultant’s view of the airport before, during, and after a hazard or disaster,
airport officials have a more conservative perspective. All of the airport officials believe that the
airport’s role should be to act as an airport by providing normal operations to the community,
as shown in Table 4.23. Such operations are believed to be the best option for the community
because, as previously stated, it creates a sense of normalcy within the community. Similar to
the consultant, airport officials believe that to best prepare the airport for quick recovery from
the effects of a hazard, proper planning should occur to protect the infrastructure. Settled
between the views of the consultants and the airport officials, are the government officials’
view of the airport’s role.
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Table 4.23 – Airport Official’s Perspective on the Role of the Airport

Occupation

Airport View

4

Airport
Manager

Resume
Operations
quickly after
disaster

5

Airport
Manager

Use the airport
for airport
business

6

Airport
Manager

7

Airport
Operations

Have airport
function as
airport then
provide limited
additional roles
Get back to
normal
operations as
quickly as
possible
Use the airport
for airport
activates

8

10

Before

During

After

Prepare the
airport for a
potential
disaster

House
employees and
their families

Plan and
prepare
airport for
disaster
Act as an
airport and
protect
infrastructure

House
employees for
quick bounce
back
Protect and
mitigate
infrastructure
for quick
bounce back
House
employees and
their families

Get airport
operational and
then help
community
with recovery.
Attempt to
create a quick
bounce back

Proper
planning and
preparation
for disaster

Try to provide
additional roles
but not
necessary.

Get airport
operational and
then help
community
with recovery.
Airport
Plan and
Monitor
Quick bounce
Operations
prepare
infrastructure
back for
airport for
commercial
disaster
airports, use
alternative
spaces for
recovery
Airport
Restoring
Plan and
N/A
Quick bounce
Operations
operations as
prepare
back for
quickly as
airport for
commercial
possible
disaster
airports, use
through
alternative
retrofitting
spaces for
and mitigation
recovery
Unlike the consultants and airport officials, the government officials tend to think of the

airport as having dual roles. The first role is to become operational as quickly as possible
following the hazard event then if needed by the community and resources are available at the

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airport (operating under capacity) then the airport can provide additional roles to the
community, as shown in Table 4.24.
Table 4.24 – Government Official’s Perspective on the Role of the Airport

Occupation Airport View
9

Before

During

Director of
County
Emergency
Management
Government
Official

Use the airport Operate as an
only if needed airport
and is available

Protect itself

Restoring
operations as
quickly as
possible

Plan and
prepare
airport for
disaster

Protect
infrastructure

13

Government
Official

Protect
infrastructure

N/A

12

Government
Official

Restoring
operations as
quickly as
possible
To be used for
assisting the
city in
preparation of
incoming
disasters

Communicate
with all
disaster
players

Communicate
with all
disaster
players

11

After
Provide aid only
when requested;
use as hub for
repatriating
Quick bounce back
for commercial
airports, use
alternative spaces
for recovery
Use sources other
than commercial
airport for
recovery
Get airport
operational and
then help
community with
recovery.

Using all of the previously mentioned information, a grounded theory can be formed from the
cohesion of relationships presented in the data.
4.9 Grounded Theory Generation
Through the assessment of the previously mentioned codes, saturated codes, category
comparison and axial coding, certain theories began to emerge from the data. First it is
apparent that certain roles of the airport exist before, during, and after a disaster. Additionally,
information materialized about the airport if it were completely inoperable.

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1.

Before the hazard or disaster, the airport tends to plan for the immediate effects of
the disaster present through passive and active adaptive planning. This should consist
of protecting any necessary infrastructure for the quick operational recovery of the
airport. Ideally, the airport would actively plan this through retrofitting storage
facilities and airport buildings for the storage of vulnerable equipment, such as debris
cleaning material. Likewise, the airport needs to retrofit components that are
essential to normal airport operations, such as the runway, taxiway, air traffic control
tower, and passenger facilities. Passive adaptive planning should be focused on
quickly coordinating the movement of equipment and supplies to be readily available
following the hazard or disaster, contingent on active adaption failure.

2.

During the hazard or disaster, the airport tends to become less active, often only
housing critical staff for the quick recovery of the airport following the disaster.
Critical staff tends to assess the airport in terms of damage to assist in the
management of the airport for the purpose of quickly recovering from the disaster.
Any additional roles or non-critical staff tends to interfere with the airport’s ability to
become operational following a hazard or disaster.

3.

After the hazard or disaster, the airport tends to assess any damaged inferred from
the disaster and then determine procedures for becoming operational as quickly as
possible. Being operational following a disaster allows the airport to not only capture
airliner revenue but also provide a sense of security for the community by providing
normal cargo and passenger services. Depending on the airport, additional roles can
be executed by the airport. If the airport is not operating at capacity, there is an
112

opportunity for recovery supplies and equipment to not only be distributed through
the airport but stored as well. This is because the airport’s operations will not be
diminished due to operating below potential capacity. Therefore, the additional
congestion of the recovery planes, supplies, and equipment will not cause aircraft
delay.
4.

If the airport were inoperable following a disaster, its role would be still to become
operational but with intermediate recovery role. The airport would not be directly
involved in the recovery, in the sense of normal operations, but rather as a facility for
disaster assistance agencies to execute recovery operations. However, the community
disaster recovery operations cannot impede the airport disaster recovery operations.
Minimally, the disaster recovery agencies need minimal airport operations and
facilities to successfully operate from an airport, such as a debris free runway and
adequate open space. Air traffic control tower is not needed for disaster recovery
agencies to utilize the airport.

While many of the interviewees expressed the airport as a limited role for before, during,
and after a disaster, it does not mean that there is no potential for the role to expand. Several
interviews identified examples of successful airports that acted on behave of their surrounding
community for hazard and disaster response and recovery. The interviews were able to provide
enough information to formulate methods to increase the resiliency of the airport and
therefore potentially increase the resiliency of surrounding communities:

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1. The airport needs to identify its own infrastructural risk towards disaster and mitigate
and adapt appropriately. This allows the airport to become operational much quicker
following a disaster. Some critical infrastructure components as identified in the data
analysis include: runway, air traffic control tower, passenger buildings, cargo
equipment, and storage buildings. By becoming operational more quickly, the airport is
better suited for providing a sense of security through normal flight operations or a
sense of security by communities receiving disaster aid.
2. Communities and airports need to communicate the failure of their infrastructure
because their infrastructure is dependent upon one and another for recovery. If roads
connecting the airport to the community are damaged, supplies chains of recovery
material to the community will be severed rendering the airport useless for recovery. If
the airport’s infrastructure is damaged, recovery supplies to the community are solely
dependent on alternative modes.
3. The airport needs to think critically about how and what airport space and buildings can
be used for. Numerous interviews discussed buildings being used beyond their intended
purpose for the sake of disaster recovery. Therefore, airport buildings need to be
examined for additional uses. For example, hangers could be used for morgues.
The grounded theories generated from the analysis provide significant discussion points on the
airport’s role before, during, and after a hazard or disaster.

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4.10 Chapter Summary
Chapter 4 provided the results from the analysis. There are two main views of the
airport: the airport acting in an active role with communities during a disaster and the airport
acting more independently. Similarly, each main discussion point within the interviews
represents outcomes that dissemble information regarding not only the airport’s role but
additional issues involving operations, infrastructure capabilities, and vulnerabilities before,
during and after a disaster. Much of the coded information provided by the interviews also
appears to be dependent on the type of occupation of each research participant. Each one of
these views has its strengths and weaknesses depending on the type of the airport and hazard
they respectively encounter. It is apparent though that current role of the airport before,
during, and after a hazard or disaster is to operate as an airport. However, given the right
circumstances such as proper planning and the proper infrastructure, the airport could become
a more permanent tool for communities to use in disaster recovery.

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Chapter-5
DISCUSSION

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5.1 Introduction
This research used Bartlett and Payne’s (1997) method of constructing grounded theory to
answer the research objectives laid forth in chapter 1.5. These include:
1. Identify the airport’s role for each before, during, and after a hazard or disaster
2. Identify characteristics of airports that provide the greatest avenues for adaptability to
increase its and the communities extreme long term disaster resiliency.
3. Identify airport issues that arise when airports are actively involved in hazard or disaster
scenarios.
4. Identify community issues that arise when airports are actively involved in hazard or
disaster scenarios.
5. Identify the ability of the airport to act as a sheltering devise for vulnerable people.
6. Identify the ability of the airport to act as a tool for evacuations before, during, and after
a hazard or disaster.
7. Identify the infrastructure necessary for the airport to be more resilient.
8. Generate recommendations on avenues for airport adaptation, which are most viable
for the airport and community to achieve better extreme long term natural disaster
resiliency.
Therefore, Chapter 5 will discuss the results of Chapter 4 are as they relate to the
aforementioned research goals.
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5.2 The Airport’s Role Before, During, and After a Hazard or Disaster
As mentioned in Chapter 4, the analysis proved to be a vital method for producing a
grounded theory of the airports role. The current role of the airport is to act as an airport by
protecting its critical infrastructure, such as the runway, taxiway, air traffic control tower, and
buildings so that airport operations can resume as quickly as possible following a hazard. Many
research participants believe this is what the airport’s role should be. However, some research
participants also believe that the airport can provide additional roles, when planned and
prepared to do so.
5.2.1 The Airport’s Current Role Before a Hazard or Disaster
Even though airports’ role before, during, and after a disaster is dependent on several
factors, the first and primary role of the airport is to be a functioning and fully operational
airport. Airports are in the business to be airports; moving passengers and cargo from their
origin to their destination. Any additional role before the disaster or hazard should not come at
the expense of the aforementioned for several reasons. First, airports are financial institutions
that need to generate revenue from their tenants to fund expense for operations and
personnel. Without financial revenue, the airport’s role in disaster response would be limited.
Second, when airports are fully utilized for flight departures and arrivals, it can maintain a sense
of normality throughout the surrounding community. It may be difficult for the airport to
predict when the FAA will close their airspace but adaptation efforts should be conducted
internally during the hazard event. This ensures that all FAA guidelines are met quickly after the
hazard event, allowing the airport to reopen.

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5.2.2 The Airport’s Current Role During a Hazard or Disaster
Similar to the airport before the hazard or disaster, the airport desires to be operational
as long as possible before the arrival of the storm and as quickly as possible after the storm.
Therefore, the airport needs to monitor and prepare its facilities for quick recovery. As
identified in Chapter 4, the airport accomplishes a quick recovery response by occasionally
housing employees and their families. Such an act allows the airport’s operations and
infrastructure to be monitored during the storm thus, decreasing assessment time of
operations and infrastructure following the storm.
5.2.3 The Airport’s Current Role After a Hazard or Disaster
The airport’s role after the hazard or disaster is to operate as an airport as quickly as
possible. This view stems from the airport being designed to service passengers and cargo as a
profitable business, not its design as a repository for recovery supplies. Additionally, the role of
the airport is to serve the community as an airport for in and outbound passenger flights thus,
providing a sense of normality. For example, the airport also receives various types of cargo
including recovery supplies from inbound passenger flights. This cargo is delivered to stores or
post offices. Therefore, the community’s needs are met at locations where everyday activities
occur, such as food at grocery stores rather than congregating around or in the airport.
When a hazard or disaster passes, the community maybe disrupted and can no longer
physically or socially exist as a cohesive society. As discussed within Chapter 2, cities and
communities can become physically and socially damaged to the point where life necessities
are limited or inaccessible, such as water and food. As the physical damage becomes increasing
insurmountable, social cohesiveness may dissolve, potentially creating disobedient citizens that

119

resort to looting, stealing, or murder, as was the case in New Orleans in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina (Haddow and Bullock, 2006). Therefore, from a disaster management
standpoint, a passive approach to recovering a city or community may further escalate the
degradation of the social fabric within the city or community. While the airport’s role is not to
directly mitigate the potential onset of city or community riots or other disobedient events, it
could mitigate some effects, as indicated throughout several interviews, by assisting in the
introduction of recovery supplies.
5.3 Adaptation Avenues for Airports
While the airport’s role is to be a functional airport before, during, and after a hazard or
disaster, it can be adapted to perform additional roles. The grounded theories discovered in
Chapter 4, provide a framework for establishing adaptation approaches to airports to increase
resiliency of the airport and community. These approaches can be viewed and implemented
before the hazard approaches, during the hazard or disaster, and after the hazard or disaster
passes.
5.3.1 Adaptation when a Hazard Approaches
As previously mentioned, the airport’s role before a hazard approaches is to stay
operational as long as possible. Federal regulations, including those generated by the FAA and
TSA will legally dictate if the airport can stay operational. First, the airport can only legally
function if it meets all the FAA guidelines as presented in C-139 requirements. If the airport
cannot meet these expectations, then commercial flights are legally grounded until compliance
is met. Consequently, the first adaption policies the airport should create are centered on C-139
requirements and the information presented in the interviews.
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The FAA requires passing inspections and scenario drills for the airport to become
operational such as, fueling stations, pavement conditions, lighting, signs, aircraft rescuing and
fire fighting inspection, the level of public and wildlife protection. Adaptation needs to start
with the aforementioned inspections and scenario drills because, if adapted correctly, the
airport would become operational much quicker following a disaster. Likewise, several research
participants acknowledged that the airport’s most important infrastructure for recovery
operations would be the runway and fueling stations. Therefore, if the airport were to adapt C139’s infrastructural components to withstand the effects of a hurricane, it would recovery
from that disaster much quicker. For example, one of C-139’s requirements for a commercial
airport to operate is that the lighting system needs to be functioning. Therefore, adaptation can
occur on two accounts. The first being that the airport can adapt a lighting system to be more
resilient to the effects of the hazard by making the bulbs and circuit system stronger; the
second being the airport stores numerous light bulbs so when the light bulbs break, they are
replaced following the hazard or disaster by staff. The former is a more active approach to
adaptation and maybe more suitable for the airport to become operational quicker following
the disaster. However, the airport should also have plenty of light bulbs in storage, in
anticipation of any bulbs breaking. For that reason, the airport should implement retro fitting
on its critical infrastructure and implement passive adaptation policies in case the retro fitted
infrastructure fails. Operationally, the airport needs to expand its resiliency partnerships,
especially with the local community.

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5.3.2 Adaptation during a Disaster
During a disaster, the potential for airport adaptation is the greatest yet the most risky.
When the airport is confronted with a disaster, it tends to extinguish the public presence and
minimize workforce levels. The rational for such premises lies in the risk associated with
injuring the public in temporary shelters while the outcomes of a disaster are still unknown.
Additionally, staff present in the airport are preparing and/or monitoring the facility for quick
recovery from the hazard or disaster; therefore, any public intervention could hinder the
completion of preparation or monitoring tasks. Therefore, airports are hesitant to house the
public during crises. However, the employees housed during the disaster are comforted with
various living amenities.
The airport during the disaster can consist of a minimal staff which is afforded a range of
different living commodities. When the disaster strikes the airport desires to reach postdisaster operations quickly as possible. This process is usually aided with lofting staff members
in the airport to sleep on cots or other arranged accommodations. Depending on the airport,
some staff members are fortunate to have hotels donate sleep quarters. These activities give
the impression that that the airport may have the potential for adapting a shelter during a
hazard or disaster.
While the airport does not desire public occupation during a hazard or disaster, there
may still be potential for sheltering abilities. As previously mentioned, the airport contains
equipment for housing employees. This equipment could be expanded for use by vulnerable
social groups. While there is a risk of public interference during disaster operations, proper
airport planning could resolve that issue.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency could assist directly and indirectly sponsor
airport adaptation during the disaster. While the airport personnel are completing airport
operation tasks for quicker recovery from the hazard, FEMA could be in charge of the
temporary airport shelter that houses known vulnerable groups. Such a task would require
preemptive planning between FEMA, local governments, and the airport that included issues
such as, airport shelter capacity, resiliency of airport infrastructure (i.e., hurricane rating, wind
rating, flood level capacity, etc.), time required in the airport during the disaster, and medical
issues that arise within the shelter. Though not an exhaustive list, it does provide areas of
planning that need to occur if an airport were to shelter the public. Likewise, FEMA needs to
assure the airport that such shelter operations would not interfere with airport operations
during a disaster. The most obvious benefit of the airport as a shelter revolves on vulnerable
groups receiving asylum in disastrous situations. Additionally through (but not within the scope
of this research), providing large quantities of shelters with small quantities of people versus
small quantities of shelters with large amount of people, maybe more successful in terms of
diminishing the negative impacts of shelter life such as, poor medical attention, potential lack
of provisions, and overcrowding.
5.3.3 Adaptation after the Occurrence of a Hazard or Disaster
As Chapter 4 states, the airport’s role following a hazard or disaster is to become
operational as quickly as possible. To become operable, the airport must meet the FAA’s C-139
requirements. While many research participants stated that the airport’s main goal is to
become operational following a disaster, many also agree that the airport has potential to
provide additional roles, such as a staging area or waypoint for recovery supplies.

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Most recovery supplies are funded by government agencies and hence are transported
with military vehicles such as cargo trucks and aircrafts. Military cargo planes are often large
and heavy and require additional runway strength and length than many aviation aircraft. Some
airports have these capabilities while others would need retrofitting to increase capacity.
However, large aircrafts are not the only type of aircraft the military employees. Smaller and
lighter planes with less cargo capacity means they can land at smaller airports but will require
increase flight frequency to meet recovery aid demand from local areas. Once landed,
unloading supplies from the aircraft could present an issue for some airports.
Depending on the type of cargo aircraft landed and where it landed, unloading supplies
may become problematic. Some airports may have limited or no cargo unloading capacity,
creating added job demands on airport personnel for unloading the cargo. Additionally, the
personnel may not be trained properly for unloading certain cargo or using available cargo
equipment, potentially resulting in physical injury to a potentially short staffed airport.
Therefore, airport personnel need to be trained on how to effectively remove material from
various types of airplanes. Alternatively, airplanes can be retrofitted with standardized cargo
loading and unloading equipment. While government agencies are usually responsible for
obtaining, delivering, and allocating supplies, their role is limited.
5.4 Affiliations with the Airport
The research participants also provided information on the role of different government
agencies before, during, and after a hazard or disaster and their association with the airport.
These agencies include the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Transportation Security
Administration, the State, and the County the airport resides in.
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5.4.1 Federal Emergency Management Agency and Airport Operation Groups
The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s responsibility is to provide disaster
assistance. This may be through the form of mitigation efforts such as purchasing property in a
flood plan or providing relief and recovery supplies to a disaster area. The former of which
provides plans and assistance that help communities prepare, mitigate, and recover from
disaster. The latter of which is strictly a response initiative requested from the state governor.
While the airport’s goal is to reestablish itself as an airport following the hazard or disaster,
FEMA should not provide assistance to the airport. This is because the airport should have
other disaster recovery players assisting them in their recovery processes, such as the
Southeast Disaster Operations Group and West Disaster Operations Group (SEADOG and
WESTDOG, respectively). These entities are designed to provide airport to airport aid and
recovery assistance, though not financially. Therefore, FEMA can allocate its resources towards
introducing recovery supplies into the affected communities. However, the airport may need
FEMA for one purpose.
While FEMA responds to local community needs in terms of disaster recovery and
financial assistance, FEMA may need to allocate financial assistance to airports. SEADOG and
WESTDOG are useful tools for airports that need personnel or operational knowledge neither
provide financial assistance. If the airport is damaged and needs repairs, SEADOG and
WESTDOG become ineffective. FEMA needs to assess the damage received by the airport and
provide financial assistance if deemed necessary. Such assistance could help the airport recover
quicker; potentially recovering the community quicker.

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5.4.2 State and Local Government
The airport infrequently, if ever, is dictated by the local government in terms of closing
the airport. However, the local government takes the “lead role” in disaster preparation and
recovery, as stated by many research participants. Often the local government, whether it is
the city or the county, will be the hub for communication between state, tribal and local
officials, the private sector, non-profits, faith-based groups, and the general public. By acting as
a hub, the local government is able to discover information, such as when the airport will close,
how long an evacuation will take, and the number of intra-city buses available for evacuation.
Similarly, the local government will act in a post-disaster environment as a hub for
communication; determining when the airport will open, what road systems are damaged,
when power will be supplied to the region. When all of this information is able to be assembled
in a central command, decisions can be quickly made that minimize uncertainty between the
aforementioned agencies. The local government may request assistance from the airport for
certain procedures such as the previously stated evacuations and staging grounds. However, if
the airport is city owned and operated, the city may mandate that the airport participate in
certain activities.
5.4.3 Airline Companies
In the course of the interviews, few research participants mentioned partnerships
between airliners, airports, and communities during a hazardous or disastrous situation. It
seems that both communities and airports view airliners as an independent organization not as
an independent tool. While it is understandable for airline companies to evacuate their planes
outside of a hazardous area, they should be utilized on their last outbound trip for evacuating
large masses of people in hazardous situations. Likewise when an airport becomes operational
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after the disaster, incoming supplies should be loaded onto commercial airliners, if cargo room
is available. However, several research participants recognized that some airports are able to
incorporate recovery planes into their daily operations because of large maximum operation
capacity that is not utilized. Therefore, airports should communicate with their tenets about
the potential to evacuate vulnerable social groups on their last outbound trip. Additionally,
airports need to assess their operational capacity to determine whether and at what
magnitude, recovery operations can occur.
5.5 Local Government Affiliation Logistics with Airports
As previously identified, the airport operates with the intention of providing exclusive
recovery procedures to become operational as quickly as possible. However, throughout the
interviews, research participants acknowledged that the airport has the potential to become
more than just an airport. However, all these additional roles center on specific infrastructure
that has become disabled
5.5.1 Recovery Logistics
After the passage of a hazard, the airport is able to act as a staging area for inbound
relief supplies that are needed within the region. While the most beneficial transportation
mode for in-bound relief supplies is still debatable, the significance of the airport to introduce
large quantities of supplies can be critical to the quick recovery of the region but is dependent
on internal and external infrastructure. Figure 5.1 displays the normal transportation logistics of
the airport and community with a ground and air transportation connection between the two.

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Figure 5.1 – The Infrastructural Relationship between the Airport and Community

Figure 5.2 displays the infrastructure between the airport and community as being
disconnected. This type of situation creates conflicting roles for the airport. On one hand, the
airport’s role becomes critical when other transportation modes are disabled from the hazard’s
effects. On the other hand, the airport’s disaster recovery and staging area effectiveness
diminishes when other transportation modes are disabled. For example, if rail lines entering a
city or region are destroyed or flooded beyond the point of accessible or safe traveling, relief
supplies cannot enter the city via this mode. Therefore, the airport seems to be pivotal for
providing space and logistics for storing and transporting recovery supplies. However, supplies
coming into the airport may have difficultly arriving to the disaster areas due to the disabled
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transportation modes. This may prelude to the idea of the airport parachuting supplies into a
region.
Figure 5.2 – Airport and Community Disconnect from Failed Infrastructure

Figure 5.3 displays the transportation network leading to the airport as being
disconnected from the hazard or disaster. If the disabled transportation networks are outside of
the community, then that disabled infrastructure would not be considered critical as long as the
disaster area had an airport, creating an island effect. This is because supplies can come into
the airport via aircraft and be shipped to the community on rail lines or highways, as shown in
Figure 5.3.

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Figure 5.3 – Airport and Community Disconnect from Non-Airport Recovery Supplies

In other words, one transportation network is dependent on another within the transportation
system of the disaster area not necessarily outside of the area.
5.5.2 Evacuation Logistics
When hazards are able to be relatively predicted, communities may initiate an
evacuation order before the hazard strikes but evacuations routes can become congested. The
transportation mode at which the evacuation occurs depends on the level of evacuation
required. If the approaching hazard’s strength has the potential to overwhelm the community,
evacuation may occur through the airport systems. This was the case when Hurricane Katrina
made landfall in New Orleans. Before Katrina made landfall, the City of New Orleans evacuated
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people from the Louis Armstrong International Airport to surrounding cities, such as Houston
and Atlanta, as stated by several research participants. However, the airport is only able to act
as an evacuation mode if aircraft are still present. Since airline companies act independently
from airports, they may leave before the evacuation is ordered, potentially leaving behind
vulnerable groups of people. Conversely, if the airliners choose to stay until otherwise
mandated by the FAA, airliners may participate in evacuating people and are later reimbursed
by FEMA for operation costs. Alternatively, if the hazard’s strength is expected to create
minimal damage on a community, evacuation orders will exclude the airport and rely on public
and private transportation to move people outside of the evacuation zone. For example, if a
category 1 or 2 hurricane where to make landfall in Florida, the mayor or governor would issue
an evacuation only for areas that are likely to experience a storm surge. The evacuees are
required to retreat to an area outside the storm surge area; not another city as, was the case
with hurricane Katrina. Therefore, during small natural hazard events the airport’s role in
evacuations is limited. However, during larger natural hazards the airport has opportunities to
participate in the evacuation process given aircraft are still present.
5.5.3 Infrastructure Reuse
Some interviewees discussed various ideas for adapting airports’ buildings to aid in
disaster recovery. Since airports contain numerous buildings that either house planes, waiting
passengers or airport personnel there is a potential to use some buildings other than its
intended purpose. In a time of hazard or disaster and the airport is closed from traveling
passengers, much space is left unused and in some cases vacant. An example of this is provided
by one research participant who stated that a hanger was once used for a morgue following a

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hurricane. While this method may seem morbid, it did provide a useful and adaptive strategy
for defusing a perceived problem for recovery. The hanger may not be the only adaptable
building for the airport in hazardous or disastrous events.
Before, during, or after a disaster, the airport may potentially provide opportunities for
adaptive building reuse in the form of a shelter. This is deduced on the premise that airports
often house staff during and after a disaster for the purpose of reinitiating airport operations as
quickly as possible. This process is accomplished by providing the staff with the necessary
equipment such as, bedding, food, and water. If these supplies were increased, the airport may
have the potential to house vulnerable individuals. Conversely, if the airport were to execute
such a function, it may pose operational difficulties. The greatest potential benefit but probably
the least likely to occur, is a sheltering device manifested from the passenger-less terminal. It
offers the greatest benefit to surrounding regions as an asylum to evacuees escaping from an
encroaching hazard.
5.5.4 Airport Shelters
Since airports are intricate systems of logistics and people, slight mishaps or alterations
can lead to operational delays or cancellations making the shelter seem like an unrewarding
business opportunity. Groups of individuals that are housed during a disaster crisis may feel
comfortable and grateful but issues arise such as the quality of life within the shelter. While
these are common issues in any temporary shelter, they are exaggerated in the setting of an
airport because the staff is now concerned about the aforementioned housing issues in
addition to normal airport operations. Therefore terminals as shelters may hinder the ability of
an airport to operate effectively. Consequently, using the airport as a shelter should be avoided
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and at the very least approached with caution. Sheltering operations for hazards and disasters
should be placed in alternative areas that are not at risk of interfering with disaster recovery.
Depending on the airport design, an airport can adapt more quickly to aforementioned
recommendations.
5.6 Adapting Different Types of Airports
Despite their most obvious differences, both general and commercial aviation airports
may have the potential for adaptation measures creating a more resilient airport and
community. While this research discussed the different classes of airports, this section focuses
on distinguishing class I airports as commercial airport and class II, III, and IV as general aviation
airports. Each one of these entities possesses its own strength and weakness based on the type
of adaption and when the adaptation occurs.
5.6.1 Different Classes of Airports
The different classes of airports present different adaptive abilities. As previously
discussed, each airport class is cataloged based on if they participate in scheduled flights and
the number of seating their aircraft have. This provides some measures of adaptive capacity.
For example, Class I airports receive scheduled flights with aircrafts that house more than 30
passengers. These airports would be ideal for short-term adaptation because long-term
adaptation would interfere with scheduled flights. However, since this class of airports operates
with larger aircraft they have the capacity for larger recovery operations. In other words, the
larger the aircraft operating at the airport the more recovery supplies are onboard. Class II
airports may provide the greatest opportunity for adaptation because, they are large in nature

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but only have scheduled flights for smaller aircraft. This means that recovery operations are less
likely to interfere with the normal operations of the airport. Additionally, this class of airports,
being large in nature, can introduce more recovery supplies into the region. Class III airports are
small and have scheduled flights. This possess a problem when adapting these airports because,
recovery efforts could derail airport operations. Additionally, this class of airports cannot
introduce the same quantity of supplies into a region as Class I and II. Class IV airports offer
large space with unscheduled flights. This along with Class II provides the space and capacity for
recovery operations while minimizing the likelihood of interfering with scheduled flights.
5.6.2 General Aviation Adaptation
Since general aviation contains less passenger and cargo enplanement than commercial
aviation, any sort of adaptation that does occur is less likely to be at the expense of flight
delays, cancellations, or any other sort of aviation “set-back”. On the other hand, adaptation
that does occur at a general aviation airport may not be the most suitable location for
immediate and unplanned adaptation results.
General aviation may not be the most prepared for immediate adaptation. Being small
in nature, general aviation does not have the same access to vital equipment that provides
adaptation mechanisms. For example, general aviation may not have the necessary equipment
to unload planes carrying recovery supplies or for that matter runway lengths long enough to
be considered safe for landing. Additionally, general aviation airports tend to be less staffed
than commercial airports thus potentially creating an understaffed airport to deal with a hazard
or disaster. General aviation airports would not be ideal for passive adaption because they do

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not offer quick and immediate solutions to a hazard with their lack of equipment. To become
actively adapted, general aviation airports would require extensive planning on infrastructure
capabilities and personnel operations. Operationally, general aviation airports may appear to
be less than ideal for immediate adaptation, its commercial aviation counterpart appear much
more suitable.
5.6.3 Commercial Aviation Adaptation
Commercial aviation airports, unlike general aviation airports, have the potential to
provide more of an immediate impact to adaptation planning but may lack solutions to
approaching long-term hazards and succumbing disasters. Contrary to general aviation airports,
commercial airports have the potential to provide numerous pieces of equipment for
adaptation efforts before, during, or after a disaster. The plethora of equipment arises from
commercial aviation airports being large in nature and providing capabilities to numerous types
of aircraft. For example, the commercial aviation sector caters to numerous types of aircraft;
therefore equipment for unloading material off an aircraft is more likely to be a match to an
aircraft providing recovery supplies. Additionally, commercial airports tend to have longer
runways, potentially allowing the landing of a multitude of supply aircraft types. Likewise,
commercial airports tend to possess larger staffs than general aviation thus, providing plausibly
efficient staff for managing an approaching hazard or the aftereffects of a disaster. However,
commercial aviation is a complex system and therefore, adaptation may disrupt airport
operations which would decrease the airport’s overall resiliency. Finally, commercial airports
offer much larger campuses containing numerous buildings, such as hangers which are suitable
for large scale disaster recovery. Commercial aviation provides an ideal environment for passive
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adaptation because the necessary infrastructure and personnel are available for adaption
processes. However, to become actively adapted might jeopardize the normal operations of
airports.
5.7 Creating adaptation: A Step-by-Step Approach
Assessing the qualitative data through quantitative measures produced results that
identified differences among the responded answers. Question 1, in Table 3.2 represents what
the airport’s role is in response to a natural hazard. If the airport were to add a role it should
first begin coordination efforts with the local government before the hazard strikes to eliminate
future disastrous outcomes. This approach has the potential to consume operational resources
of the airport which could lead to the airport being more vulnerable to the effects of the
hazard, increasing the likelihood for a disaster. While not explicitly correlated, some
interviewees believe that the airport should deal with the hazard as an airport system, whether
that is through a generic emergency plan or some a type of all-scenario plan. However, this
approach potentially leaves the city vulnerable to the ill-effects of the hazard, again possibly
producing a disastrous situation. Essentially, this could create problems between the local
communities and the airport of which each is attempting to become more resilient to the
hazard. Therefore, it is crucial that the airport and community interact on disaster coordination
well before the knowledge is presented about an approaching hazard to assure that
dependency on disaster assistance is not expected from the other entity. This will eliminate any
unrealistic or unforeseen disaster assistance expectation one entity may have for the other.
Communication using this approach can be applied to all 4 of the “is” questions of the

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interview. This is, again, to assure all entities involved in the disaster of any unrealistic
expectations for every stage of disaster preparation and planning.
The “should” question presented a philosophical approach as to what the research
participants believed the relationship between the airport and the surrounding communities
should be. Questions containing such content were viewed with mix results, probably stemming
from each individuals experience, background, and occupation. For example, airport officials
tend to believe that the airport’s role should be to “operate as an airport,” whereas a
government official tended to side with, “airports provide services for post-disaster recovery.”
Confronting the two ideological differences has the potential to be problematic for adaptation.
Operational adaptation requires mutual understanding of infrastructure vulnerabilities and
adaptation. Therefore, certain recommendations can be deduced from such data.
First and preferably, local communities need to determine their risk level from certain
hazards and if that risk is great enough to warrant the need for additional adaptation. If
adaptation is needed, the local community needs to be aware of the airport as a resource.
However, it is not the job of the airport to provide the necessary adaptation or recovery
resources to the community. As many interviewees stated, the airport is in the businesses of
moving passengers and cargo, not acting as a special agent of adaptation. However, this may
not be the case of every single airport, because some airports may possess surplus capacity to
provide additional roles to the community, as suggested in several interviews.
Secondly, as briefly implied in the previous paragraph, airports need to address more
than regular operations in times of disasters. While many interviewees did suggest that the
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airport’s role before, during, and after a disaster is centered on normal operations, they also
mentioned that airports need to be aware of additional mitigation roles. This process should be
when the airport can handle such scenarios. This leads to believe that the airport has the
potential for additional roles but needs careful consideration.
Third, many interviewees were concerned of the airport’s operations becoming
hindered due to relief efforts conducted through federal agencies and any such hindrance is
actually more detrimental to disaster recovery. To mitigate hindering effects of inbound
recovery efforts, federal agencies need to find alternative transportation modes such as semitrailers or ships for supplying recovery material to communities. However, certain locations or
situations may arise when the airport is the only avenue available for incoming recovery
supplies. Therefore, federal agencies and airports should be aware of the maximum amount of
recovery supplies the airport can handle while still maintaining normal operations. By
understanding the maximum amount of recovery supplies an airport can handle, recovery
efforts will still be able to proceed without the negative consequences of normal airport
operations. Additionally, when airports cannot operate under the approval of the FAA, recovery
supply logistics, if physically feasible, should be maximized during this time and decrease when
FAA approval for operations is granted. Also, during the time before FAA reopens flights,
federal agencies should be identifying and if necessary, improve alternative transportation
modes for the entrance of recovery supplies into a region. Therefore, while an airport may
seem like an ideal staging area for disaster recovery it is not an ideal situation, due to
interference with airport operations. Consequently, recovery operations occurring in an airport
should seek alternative staging areas following the FAA’s approval for flights post-disaster.
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Fourth, airports should adapt and update critical infrastructure components that are
detrimental to airport operations. When airports adapt any critical infrastructure components,
it can lead to better resiliency of the airport. For example, several interviewees discussed
infrastructure improvements that minimized flooding which would prevent structure damage.
However, adapting infrastructure is different than updating the infrastructure. Updating critical
infrastructure for airport operations would allow an increase in airport traffic. Doing so could
also create more resiliencies for the nearby community because the increase airport traffic
capacity would allow federal agencies to supply more recovery material to the area via aircraft.
Fifth, airplanes should adapt necessary components to fit multiple types of loading and
unloading equipment. Many interviewees discussed problems with airplanes unloading and
loading cargo from airports due to different sizes and types of equipment that were not
compatible with the airplane. If an adaptive strategy could create compatible equipment for
unloading and loading material from planes, which is one less piece of required planning for
airports and recovery agencies. Such compatibility would allow recovery agencies the ability to
respond quicker to disaster situations.
Sixth, airports and local communities need to communicate their supplies and demands
of disaster planning. A portion of the interviews discuss one particular airport, Baton Rouge
Airport, which perhaps is a leading example of adaptation planning but unfortunately could not
be contacted for a personal interview. The research participants discussed how Baton Rouge
Airport would purposely adapt for the anticipation of a disaster by obtaining funding for mobile
homes that are used as disaster operation posts. Additionally, Baton Rouge Airport also

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communicates available facilities to the local government of which can be utilized during and
after a hazard. These simple techniques should be utilized by all airports that are expected to
face a hazardous or disastrous situation.
5.8 Limitations
Adaptation is a difficult process to measure. While it can be simplified into anything that
makes a system more resilient to the effects of a hazard, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what
increases the resiliency. Therefore by enacting the previously mentioned discussion points and
a community becomes more resilient, it may not be due solely to the adaptation improvements
accomplished by an airport. Instead, the increase in resiliency is more probable from a
multitude of adaptation procedures enacted.
While airports can enact all the adaptation procedures and infrastructure protection
available, they are still limited in their capacity to assist in disaster situations. This research
attempts to encompass as many categories and agents of adaptation. However, both categories
and agents of adaptation are nearly limitless therefore for an airport or a community to be truly
adapted to hazards or disasters, all categories and agents should be enacted. However, the
scope and magnitude of hazards and disasters is difficult to comprehend.
Another problem with airports decreasing vulnerability is the uncertainty among the
strength of a disaster or future disaster. Adaptation occurs when the vulnerability of a system is
known or perceived to be known. Similarly, society can only comprehend the potential of a
disaster by examining the worst case scenario, but defining the worst case scenario is difficult
and implausible. For example, some interviewees stated that their city or airport practiced and
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planned for an all-hazards approach based on worst case scenario. However, the question still
remains regarding what exactly is an “all-hazards” approach or “worst case” scenario. More
than likely it is defined as to what a group of experts or officials believe to be likely but
likelihood does insinuate all possibilities. In other words, unless airports and communities plan
for the complete global destruction, an “all-hazards” and/or “worst case” scenario is futile.
Therefore, while adapting the airport, it by no circumstances creates a true “all-hazards” or
“worst case” protection plan. Instead the airport and community, to a certain extent, are
potentially able to create a quicker recovery following a hazard by enacting adaptation
procedures.
5.9 Chapter Summary
Chapter 5 presented information on what the airport’s role is and should be before,
during, and after encountering a hazard or disaster and suitable adaption approaches. It is
apparent that the airport’s first objective is to become operational as quickly as possible
following a hazard or disaster. However, there are multiple approaches that decrease the time
necessary for the airport to become operational. These include retrofitting and passively
adapting the critical infrastructure for operations that are present in the C-139 requirement.
Once operational, the airport can begin to resume normal operations. However, the airport
may be able to play additional roles in response and recovery of hazard or disaster such as a
shelter, avenue for recovery supplies and/or storage of recovery supplies. To provide recovery
supplies to the community, the airport would need to adapt the process of loading and
unloading material from the airplanes in addition to establishing communication with the local
government.
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Chapter-6
CONCLUSION

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6.1 Introduction
Airports are designed to provide passenger and cargo services, yet they possess the
potential to provide additional roles to the community through adaption. These additional roles
can help community and airport planners prepare their jurisdiction for incoming hazards.
However, disaster and hazard preparedness plans are based on airport’s risk, exposure, and
adaptation potential to their respected hazard and disaster. The remaining sections of this
thesis focus on leveraging the maximum potential of community resiliency from airports.
6.2 Research Benefits
The benefits of this research include a grounded theory based on if, what, and should
the potential adaptation procedures should be implemented to airports. This includes
examining relationships between local governments, disaster agencies, and other airport to
airport aid programs. Additionally, this research identified that adaptation reuse for building
that is vacant before, during, and after a disaster. Ultimately, this research suggests that local
communities take the lead role in determining the most beneficial means for adapting
themselves before, during, and after a disaster. This allows the community to examine all
possible avenues of adapting to a hazard and selecting the one that best their goals and needs.
6.3 Planning Lessons
This research brings forth planning lessons on how communities and airports can
prepare themselves for natural hazard resiliency. Community and airport planners need to
assess and then communicate their likelihood for encountering a natural hazard and their
perceived resiliency to airports. Following, communities and airports can discuss and plan
future partnerships before, during, and after the disaster. More specifically, planners need to
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understand when planning for a disaster the airport can be a vital tool for increasing a
community’s resiliency. The level of the resiliency is still debatable. However, many research
participants have recognized the airport as playing a more active role following the hazard or
disaster. Therefore, community planners should at least participate with the airport on
formulating procedures and guidelines for the airport’s role after the disaster. This does not
mean that planners should ignore resiliency planning before or during a hazard or disaster. It
simply means that, as demonstrated in this research, the airport has more to offer surrounding
communities after the disaster than before or during. This process allows each the airport and
community planner to understand what level of participation the other can and should be able
to provide. This research helps formulate a different mindset for planners and airport officials
by assessing infrastructure and policies that are believed to unilateral roles into multilateral
roles. Similarly, this research demonstrated that communities preparing against hazard or
disasters have an additional tool.
Airports are often viewed as an independent agency isolated from community
relationships which is not entirely accurate, as indicated through this research. Planners,
engineers, local officials, and community members need to view the airport not as an
independent business but rather as a member of their community. This membership should
include a mutualistic interest that is vested in securing, helping, and promoting those that
require it. Do accomplish though, a transition in the mindset of airports and communities needs
to occur.

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6.4 Transitioning Mindsets to View Infrastructure Multilaterally
Conventional thinking regarding the airport as having a minimal role before, during, or
after a disaster should be reexamined. Many research participants had the mindset of the
airport as a unilateral tool. However, other research participants exemplified cases where
certain airports become multilateral in disaster planning and recovery processes. The airport
can become multilateral in the sense that dual roles occur; one being normal airport operations
and the other being an active player in hazardous or disastrous situations. Yet, why roughly half
of the research participants believed the airport should act unilaterally remains a mystery.
Several predictions can be hypothesized about why nearly half of the research
participants believed that the airport should act unilaterally. First, some of the research
participants may have not experienced a hazardous or disastrous situation and therefore
possess little familiarity on the ramifications that results from such events. This may cause their
answers to be biased towards the airport operating in a unilateral manner. Second, research
participants that believed the airport should act unilaterally maybe facing large financial
constraints. Third, research participants may have believed the airport should act unilaterally
because they know the airport would be too damaged to participate in any additional role.
Regardless of the reason the several interviewees responded with the airport needs to act
unilaterally. This mentality needs to change and can be changed following several simple
procedures.
Changing the mentality of airport and government officials needs to occur and can be
achieved for the sake of increasing airport and community resiliency. First, airport and
government officials need to be more open minded to the creative thinking of several airports
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that play additional roles in times of hazards or disaster, as mentioned in the interviews. For
example, one research participant mentioned that an airport utilized unused hanger space to
act as a morgue in the aftermath of a disaster. This type of service is beneficial to the disaster
relief cause is disregarded because of the notion of airports are independent organizations.
Second, airport and government officials should start creatively thinking of methods to relief
the burdens of relief efforts on FEMA and other agencies. Third, airport and government
officials need to actively participate with each other for preparing additional roles during times
of need. Nearly all the research participants discussed the federal government participating
minimally in preparing the airport for future disaster, other than financing. This research has
demonstrated that there is potential for the airport to adapt to include additional roles that
may provide supplementary resiliency measures to the airport and community. When planning
and airport officials begin to view airports as more than simply a conduit for airplanes, certain
adaptations are plausible.
6.5 Adaptation Measures
Several adaptation measures can be suggested to airports based on their risk, exposure,
and adaptive capacity. Each one of these factors influences the level of adaptation possible and
the level of adaptation needed for resiliency. While not quantitatively described, these
adaptation measures provide a rudimentary framework for airport officials. Table 6.1 provides
varying degrees of adaptation responsibility and capacity based on risk level. Table 6.2 provides
information regarding feasible adaptation approaches to airports based on the FAA’s airport
classification criteria.

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Table 6.1 – Adaptation Measures for Airport Officials

Risk – Low
Adaptation
Capacity –
Low

Adaptation
Capacity –
Medium

-

-

Risk – Medium

Create disaster
plan
Communicate
plan with
community
officials

-

Create disaster
plan
Communicate
plan with
community
officials

-

-

-

Adaptation
Capacity –
High

-

Create disaster
plan
Communicate
plan with
community
officials

-

-

-

-

Create disaster plan
Communicate plan
with community
officials
Assess land and air
traffic capacity for
recovery
Create disaster plan
Communicate plan
with community
officials
Assess land and air
traffic capacity for
recovery
Provide space for
recovery efforts
Create disaster plan
Communicate plan
with community
officials
Assess land and air
traffic capacity for
recovery
Provide space for
recovery efforts
Provide sheltering
opportunities for
employees
Actively retrofit
critical
infrastructure

Risk – High
-

-

-

-

-

Create disaster plan
Communicate plan with
community officials
Assess land and air traffic
capacity for recovery

Create disaster plan
Communicate plan with
community officials
Assess land and air traffic
capacity for recovery
Provide space for
recovery efforts

Create disaster plan
Communicate plan with
community officials
Assess land and air traffic
capacity for recovery
Provide space for
recovery efforts
Provide sheltering
opportunities for
employees
Provide sheltering
opportunities for
vulnerable populations
Actively retrofit critical
infrastructure

Figure 6.1 bases the adaptation capacity on not only the physical logistics of the airport
but also the transportation logistics. Adaptation capacity for physical logistics includes such
items as: supplementary physical space, abundant staff, and structural strength for the
buildings. However, the aforementioned become useless if the airport is too concentrated on

147

inbound and outbound flights. Therefore, high capacity airports need to be under capacity for
daily flights. More specifically, adaptation capacity can be attributed to the four airport classes
as recognized by the FAA.
Airport classes as defined by the FAA are based on flight capacity and scheduling of that
specific airport and therefore offer insight into their adaptation capacity. Table 6.2 displays
recommended adaptations for each airport class.
Table 6.2 – Possible Adaptations for Different Classes of Airports

Airport Class
Class I

Class II

Class III

Class IV

Possible Adaptations
-

Create disaster plan
Communicate plan with community officials
Assess land and air traffic capacity for recovery
Provide space for recovery efforts until operations resume
Provide sheltering opportunities for employees until operations resume
Provide sheltering opportunities for vulnerable populations until
operations resume
Actively retrofit critical infrastructure to perceived risks
Create disaster plan
Communicate plan with community officials
Assess land and air traffic capacity for recovery
Provide space for recovery efforts
Provide sheltering opportunities for employees
Actively retrofit critical infrastructure to perceived risks
Create disaster plan
Communicate plan with community officials
Assess land and air traffic capacity for recovery
Provide space for recovery efforts
Create disaster plan
Communicate plan with community officials
Assess land and air traffic capacity for recovery
Provide space for recovery efforts
Provide sheltering opportunities for employees
Provide sheltering opportunities for vulnerable populations
Actively retrofit critical infrastructure

148

The class of the airport dictates the capacity for adaption. Despite a lack of adaptation
interference with inbound and outbound flight operations, smaller airports do not have the
physical capacity to for all the necessary adaptation measures. This is conversely true for larger
airports. Larger airports, as previously discussed, possesses larger areas for adaptation yet they
run into the probability of adaptation measures interfering with inbound and outbound flight
operations. Therefore in this context, airports, such as class III, which has small unscheduled
aircraft occupy their airspace and facilities as long-term adaptation centers.
6.6 Future Areas of Research
Since this research provides a foundation for future research from a ground theory,
numerous pieces of prospective research can be conducted. First, the concept of adapting
airports based on their class needs to be examined closer as to the short and long term benefits
and how those temporal differences affect the outcome of adaptation. Second, airports have
buildings that may not be used before, during, or after a disaster. Therefore, the vacancies of
such buildings may pose an opportunity for adaptation, especially during post-disaster
recovery. However, research needs to be conducted on the likelihood of such undertakings’
effects, benefits, consequences on adaptation planning and airport operations at the different
classes of airports.

149

APPENDICES

150

Appendix A - Interview Participant Consent Form
Research Participant Information and Consent Form Josh Vertalka and Eva Kassens
“The Resilience of Airports: Assessing their vulnerability to hazards for adaptation planning”
IRB #: i037417
Explanation of Research
1. You are being asked to participate in the research study of determining an airports roll during
a natural disaster and for natural disaster recovery.
2. The airport and FEMA participants must go into detail discussing what airport’s roll is in
during and after a disaster.

Your Rights to Participate, say no, or withdraw.
1. Participation in this research project is completely voluntary. You have the right to say no.
You may change your mind at any time and withdraw. You may choose not to answer specific
questions or to stop participating at any time. This interview will be recorded with a tape
recorder.

Contact Information for Questions and Concerns
1. If you have any concerns or questions about this study, such as scientific issues, how to do
any part of it, conclusions, etc., please feel free to contact the researchers. If you have any
questions or concerns about your role and rights as a research participate, would like to obtain
information or offer input, or would like to register a complaint about this study, you may
contact anonymously if you wish, the Michigan State University’s Human Research Protection
Program

151

Josh Vertalka
Dr. Eva Kassens-Noor
Protection Program
Vertalk2@msu.edu
ekn@msu.edu
989-400-6213
517-432-8085
217 E. Point Ln. 201E Human Ecology
East Lansing,
Michigan State University
MI 48823
East Lansing MI, 48824

MSU Human Research
irb@msu.edu
517-355-2180 (p)
517-432-4503 (f)
207 Olds Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824

Documentation of Informed Consent
By beginning this phone interview, you have voluntarily agreed to participate in this research.
This interview will be recorded with a tape recorder.

152

Appendix B – Code Book
3. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. Establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Airlines
ii. Evacuations
iii. Bring in Supplies
iv. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
4. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
153

ii. Bring in recovery supplies
iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due
to recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports
vi. Evacuations
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
viii. Coordinate with governments
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
5. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Practice disaster scenarios
v. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
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ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
6. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
7. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
vi. Preparation
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vii. Mutual Aid
viii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
iv. Assessment
c. Limited Role
i. Dependent on airport
9. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
vii. Shelter
10. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
156

i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

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Appendix C - Coded Interview for 1
11. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
4. Evacuations
a. Citizens
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
Typically they are often best prepared to help deal with that because
their facilities (1:03) being kind of isolated from the perspective of
airplanes coming in and out because you don’t have to worry about
transportation system etcetera.

1. In a systematic approach
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2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
The airport can’t force any of them to do certain thing because they are
independent contractors but the one that I think do it best form a more
cooperative relationship with them and say hey we’re all going to be in
this together so we all need to thinking through it and be prepared and
be thinking of it.
, the staffing I know in Minneapolis for example, in the winter time, they
staff higher, everything internal and external (12:39) Both the airport
related staff and all the people who are inside running the concessions
and ticket agents and things like that. The airport can’t force any of them
to do certain thing because they are independent contractors but the one
that I think do it best form a more cooperative relationship with them
and say hey we’re all going to be in this together so we all need to
thinking through it and be prepared and be thinking of it.
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
The airports themselves can still function but they cannot often get their
staff there to make them function.

ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
But I know from the work we have done they have to rely on those other
infrastructures systems to get their people there
But more importantly, they couldn’t get the staff in to the airport
because of the roads being shut down because of vehicular traffic so they
work out how could we get people there.
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iii. Equipment issues
We just saw it with weather systems out at JFK a lot of reasons they had
to shut down a lot of the airport infrastructure was physically they could
not keep up with the snow because of the amount of equipment they
had.
iv. Poor geographical location
Doesn’t help that a lot of airport are built on swamps, landfills,
undesirable areas or around lakes, streams, rivers, that have the
potential to for all those kinds of natural disasters to happen on the
airport; so that complicates it a little bit as well. But that’s where most of
our airports got built anyways so we are used to dealing with that.
Underwater is not an uncommon event in an airport
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
Doing mock disasters, which I think a lot of them do, most of them those
are more focused on an airplane crash or accident more than an event
that might shut down an airport. I don’t know a lot of people that go
through a full event scenario if you will that’s more natural hazard base.
It’s more crash base but I think a lot of the tools and techniques they take
away help with that
12. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
My personal opinion is to be that portal. Again, it’s one of those that is
fairly, I think contained, if it’s intact to the point to where it can still
operate. It’s usually viewed as one of the lifelines in and out of a
community when something happens. I think there goal is to act as a
staging facility
ii. Bring in recovery supplies
iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due
to recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports

160

vi. Evacuations
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
I know a lot of the airports we’ve worked with that do any type of full
blown planning that goes beyond checking the box for their 139
certification are looking at things like where could we put cargo, where
could we store things
viii. Coordinate with governments
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
any type of full blown planning that goes beyond checking the box
for their 139 certification are looking at things like where could
we put cargo, where could we store things, we did some work,
mead and hunt did as a company, with Valdez Alaska for the
Exxon-Valdez accident and they said we want to prepared if it
ever happens again.
13. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles

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1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
I would say that most of the airports probably don’t think they have much of a
role. In the overall prevention I think they are almost as remise in treating
themselves and seeing themselves as their own little entity as the general public
is as seeing them as their own little entity. Again, just because of so many
players being involved if you boil it down to literally the airport and the people
who own and operate the airport, I think you would see that all the activities
happening they have, I don’t want to say a minimal responsibility, but have only
a portion of it that for them to say they could be that actively involved, I think
they would find themselves challenged to say they have that big of a role.
i. Dependent on ownership
Not that they wouldn’t want to be. I can’t think of many airport manager
that wouldn’t go if you asked that question would say, “Well, of course
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we want to be responsible and do as much as we can but when you boil it
down at the end of the day of how much they have the real capacity to
do. I don’t know if that is within their prevue.
Some of them are, I know general aviation airports, they going to say,
“Well, I’m going to do whatever the city tells me to do.” So, if the city
says, “we’re going to close it to aviation and we’re going to use it for X, Y,
and Z,” that’s what’s going to happen.
ii. Dependent on function
Airports like Lansing where they are an authority in their whole; focus is
the aviation element is probably going to have a different response to
that. I mean we are all about getting people and cargo in and out of a
location. So I think they would take that pretty seriously. If they know
something was coming and they could do the best in trying to prepare for
it, they would. How much of that can the airport themselves do? I think
that is pretty limited. Again, just the nature of how airports work.
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
14. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
Again, that delivery of goods and services on a pretty quick bases.
You know bringing it in on ground transportation usually is pretty
questionable depending on the type of event that getting in and
out with aviation is usually much quicker.
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
One of the things that was document through our research
with the system plan was if an event like that happened,
they all had the runway length available to bring in large
cargo, military aircraft that have supplies and people but
163

we couldn’t get off the airplanes because they are general
aviation airports that don’t have fork truck, they don’t
have boarding bridges or anything like that to off load or
the apron area, Valdez as an example to put it. So one
thing that was part of our system plan was to looking at in
that kind of instance that we probably should have, if not
an airport having a fork truck that just sits there for 365
days a year for who knows how long not getting used;
what they identify is we need to identity a business or a
company or something in a community we could get
access to that because when we went back and
approached the FAA and the state aviation department we
said, “Ok, here’s what we found, you challenged us to say
if this happens then what. Well here’s what. We can get it
in, we’ve got plenty of runway length but we don’t have a
place to put things and we don’t have a way to offload it.
FAA said, “Well, we’ll somewhat considering helping build
an apron area for the storage side of it because that is
aviation infrastructure that is really not going to go to
waste but they said no, we are not in the business of
buying equipment.
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
One of the things that was document through our research with the
system plan was if an event like that happened, they all had the runway
length available to bring in large cargo, military aircraft that have supplies
and people but we couldn’t get off the airplanes because they are
general aviation airports that don’t have fork truck, they don’t have
boarding bridges or anything like that to off load or the apron area,
Valdez as an example to put it. So one thing that was part of our system
plan was to looking at in that kind of instance that we probably should
have, if not an airport having a fork truck that just sits there for 365 days
a year for who knows how long not getting used; what they identify is we
need to identity a business or a company or something in a community
we could get access to that because when we went back and approached
the FAA and the state aviation department we said, “Ok, here’s what we
found, you challenged us to say if this happens then what. Well here’s
what. We can get it in, we’ve got plenty of runway length but we don’t
have a place to put things and we don’t have a way to offload it. FAA said,
“Well, we’ll somewhat considering helping build an apron area for the
storage side of it because that is aviation infrastructure that is really not
going to go to waste but they said no, we are not in the business of
buying equipment.
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iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
15. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local government
They are a huge asset to a community and if they truly want to be
a team player in the community, they need to be prepared. They
should have plans in place and be prepared to take an active role
in responding.

2. State Government
3. Federal Government
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently

165

2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
Sometimes they may have access to information at least like
weather events, things like that because of the nature of aviation
being weather dependent that I think they kind of get a heads up
or can if they chose to of what’s coming ahead of time or know
what’s coming and be prepared to respond accordingly.
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
Some of them have gotten more rugged aircraft rescue and fighting ARF
(37:09) equipment or more rugged snow removal equipment. Southern
states I’ve heard some who have gotten more different types of tires that
can go through mud better, things like that should they get flooded; they
could get off and on to unpaved areas, things like that. As a general one, I
don’t know if there would be a lot of difference. In the example I gave
you of the fork trucks and things like that. Some of the airports would
have that type of thing. That’s more along the lines where they wouldn’t
have those types of things.
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
A lot of the airports, because of the snow events have started looking at
how do we turn certain areas into better use.
1. Concerns
If you get away from the SOMETHING snow removal (38:00) that
is usually typically owned by the airport. If you start moving things
into boarding bridges, or the fork truck into unloading the aircraft,
usually that kind of stuff is owned by the airlines or the fixed base
operator (FBO) and so getting authority or rights to use those
things is usually where we start to run into those issues. So,
having some of that agreements for those kind of use is probably
a good idea and would play into that. It could be that it’s on the
field but the right to use it could be something they need to
negotiate ahead of time.
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
We are seeing more and more of that with the winter events of this year,
places where things are going to get snow storms are cancelling flights to
keep people out of harm’s way ahead of time saying, “Don’t even try
getting to the airport because when you get here we are not going to be
able to deal with you or things like that.” So, I think they should be more
166

involved and take an more active role in it, whether they do or not.
Personal opinion is that they should.
vi. Preparation
vii. Mutual Aid
viii. Shelter
They have started to identify and started creating some open areas
where they could put people if they need to overnight.
16. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
Commercial service airports is going to be about having the facility
to get larger aircraft in; they’re going to carry the cargo or good
and services in. General aviation airports are going to be probably
a little more on the lower end and might have more private uses
and activity.
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
I think the big thing is them being an active player, being prepared
to say, “We got area that can facilitate this and planning ahead
and being able to actively reach out and saying we can
accommodate that.” Unfortunately that is challenge for a lot of
airports with FAA and TSA requirements the way they are, a lot of
those airports are hard pressed to be able to be that open and
accommodating because of some of the requirements.
3. Operational Ultimatum
So, I think they find themselves where they would like to be more
helpful should they need to be but some of those constraints
make it hard. Lansing, for example, there would be no way for us
to quarantine this large apron area that we have easily, so we
could accommodate emergency services there and keep that
away from the commercial service side of things without it getting
complicated. We could do barricades or then you have to have
staff sitting out there kind of keeping eye on things that would
make it a challenge. Not that it couldn’t be done but, you would
have to make a consorted effort.
167

ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
In a response situation, they need to be as actively involved as they can,
providing that delivery of goods and services and getting people in and
out of the community (41:48).
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
Certainly storage of goods and services, distribution center, information
with the technology the way it is today is kind of changing things up a
little bit. Possibly housing if need be, depending on the type of airport
and size. Typically, overseeing it more for goods and services getting in
and out.
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
I think the big thing is them being an active player, being prepared to say,
“We got area that can facilitate this and planning ahead and being able to
actively reach out and saying we can accommodate that.” Unfortunately
that is challenge for a lot of airports with FAA and TSA requirements the
way they are, a lot of those airports are hard pressed to be able to be
that open and accommodating because of some of the requirements.
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
c. Limited Role
i. Dependent on airport
17. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground

168

Certainly storage of goods and services, distribution center,
information with the technology the way it is today is kind of
changing things up a little bit. Possibly housing if need be,
depending on the type of airport and size. Typically, overseeing it
more for goods and services getting in and out.
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
And we watched a family come in drop grandma off and looked
up at the screen and the flights go. They kissed grandma, left her
with here bags and they left and we stood there going, “There are
no planes going.” They didn’t ask anyone, they looked up at the
screen which I guess if you’re not really familiar with the aviation
industry, you don’t trust any of that because that’s never current
and we watched grandma walk in to try to get checked into her
flight and the gate agent said, “Ma’am, nothing else is going out
tonight.” She was probably in her 80’s, did not have a cell phone.
So, the gate agent was kind enough to make a call back to her
family who we happened to be there for a meeting, so we did our
meeting, came back down an hour and half later because the
grandma didn’t know the cell phone of the family so they had to
call home, get the voicemail, and drive back to get grandma. So,
trying to be proactive for that kind of stuff I think is about all the
airport can do, in terms of. And we kind of joked with the airport
manager we said, “that you need to have someone standing down
at the front door because grandma just got dropped off, she
looked at the screen” and unfortunately the screen isn’t in the
airports control, the airlines update that themselves. So he said, “I
don’t have any control to say it’s bad information, as the airport,
I’m the one that is going to get blasted in the newspaper article
on how could you let us drop grandma off. So, the IT side of things
and the social media side things, I think is probably where airports
are going to have a bigger role coming in and can continue to
grow.
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
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iv. Update Emergency plan
Do the local fire department services know that there is this large open
area that could be used for staging or for activities, medivac or whatever
it is.
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructure
ii. Work with other forms of government
iii. Utilizing available resources
iv. Become operational as quickly as possible
v. Update Emergency plan
vi. Shelter
18. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
We did a project in Howell about 10 years ago trying to get their runway
extended, the airport chair, the county board chair pretty much viewed
that airport as being just something for rich people to keep their toys at.
He had a heart attack and got airflighted out of the airport. He came back
after his triple bypass surgery and happened to be at the next meeting
and he said.” Stephanie, I’ve completely changed my mind, I know
understand the value of this airport.” He said, “they’ve told me that if
they couldn’t have gotten into the airport and picked me up there, I
would’ve have died. It was because they could get into the airport.” So,
its information like that you have to get out.
ii. Deliver goods and services
serving as that facility for delivery of goods, services, and people.
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
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i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll
The airports quite often are not the ones making the decisions or many of the
decisions in many cases. So, for them to be proactive, I’d say there is kind of a
fine line as to how much they can really do because a lot of the activities,
especially if you look at a commercial service airport, are not their decisions to
make. By that I mean canceling flights; airports have nothing to do with that,
that is a byproduct of the airlines. Diverting airplanes to another airport, the
airport has nothing to do with that. That is a byproduct of the airlines and air
traffic control. So, the airports themselves are going to have a somewhat limited
role in being able to be involved in that process of much probably being; going
back to some of our earlier discussion of planning and being prepared should it
happen and how could they react after is about the best they could do in most
cases.

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Appendix D - Coded Interview for 7
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
4. Evacuations
a. Citizens
So they can be used for logistics and they can be used for
mass evacuations. Hurricane Gustuv back in 2008, we
evacuated, including the tourists a total of 33, 050
evacuees left New Orleans by aircraft out of the New
Orleans airport.
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
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2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
Being able to fly supplies into one airport that is 50 miles away from the
where the supplies need to go to but all the infrastructure between there
and airport is destroyed you got to take that into account. If I can’t get it
off the airport or to the airport, it doesn’t do them any good.
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
Really depends on what the hazard is and proximity of the airport. Give
you an example, like hurricane Katrina when it took out Louisiana, Lois
Armstrong was used as a staging base we positioned equipment down
there and move it out from there.
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
Give you an example, like hurricane Katrina when it took out Louisiana,
Lois Armstrong was used as a staging base we positioned equipment
down there and move it out from there.

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ii. Bring in recovery supplies
iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports
vi. Evacuations
Certainly, precautionary evacuation is accomplished to save citizens lives
and airports can certainly assist in that matter.
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
viii. Coordinate with governments
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
The airports day to day job is to move people and freight, not preventing
disasters on a natural side.
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently

174

i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
Part of this returning to normal operations is the airlines to return
back to commercial traffic (6:34). So, whatever you are doing with
that airport, it needs to impede the natural recovery of that area
and the airport itself. So, they’ve got to build to return to
commercial flights and flow people in and out of there. That’s
important, one show stability but also for the economy of local
citizens depending on it.
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
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They still require power, they require fuel, they require food, basic stuff
that goes to that airport has to be maintained. They are still reliant on the
environment they are operating in. Things to take into consideration, fuel
is critical, how do they get their fuel? They get it through a pipeline, from
a refinery, is that pipeline damaged. How much fuel can they actually
store on hand and can they get more fuel? Without that an airport is
pretty much reduces its operation capabilities pretty significantly.
iv. Dependent on airport
Some airports are more self sufficient than others. I’ll give you an
example, the Baton Rouge airport, I think it was following Gustuv install
generators for all their terminals so if they lose power, they can power
their own terminal self sufficiently, not relaying on the Baton Rouge city
for power supply; that is fairly resourceful there.
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
Once you get past the initial stages say about the first 2-4 weeks,
the airports role in that response, I think starts getting
downplayed more as the local infrastructure becomes repaired
and you start doing line hauling.(10:13) Keep in mind when you
use aircraft, aircraft are expensive that have to have good runway
surface to operate. They are great for immediate flexible
response, for long term recovery, I think it goes well beyond what
the airport has. Outside of airport returning to normal operations.
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
An airport can help show the flag. An airplane’s flies in there with
supplies; whether it is one short ton or 80 short tons of cargo and relief
supplies. That is an immediate morale booster for everyone. You see that
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on TV, see the plane fly, you know life is coming back to normal. The
airport can help enhance a speedy recovery in a speedy response
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
Staffing issues can certainly come up. Things to keep in mind, and it’s not
just for airports, its also for any of your first responders, is that the
employees that work at the airport have jobs out at the airport but they
have families and other concerns. If a disaster hits locally, the odds are
the people working that airport are also impacted either directly or
indirectly by that disaster. So, these are things that need to be taken into
account. You’ve got to be able to care for their families if you’re going to
have those employees stay around and actually do their job. I think it’s
Arlington Texas actually provides space in the airport for their employee’s
families so if a hurricane is coming and they have an evacuation order
they’ll actually have their families come into the airport and stay with
their employees and they’ll just take care of families for them. This
enables them to actually be more responsive if they know their families
are taken care of. But any airport or any responder is always going to be
affected by that disaster locally they need to take care of what their
individual personal needs are if you’re going to have them be available to
be employees for you.

Yeah, give you an example. Baton Rouge airport, they’re, I think Anthony
is the deputy airport director there, he’s actually a pretty resourceful guy.
They are building hangers there, they’re building warehouses. When they
are not being rented out for other purposes, they make sure the local
emergency management knows, that, “Hey, we got storage space here.”
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So, you can store stuff and position cargo. They’re close proximinty to rail
heads as well as seaports. And they make sure they plug in with Baton
Rouge city and the state to let them know, “Hey, we have these
capabilities.” The airport is great if they can get what’s at that airport off
the airport. So having those rail heads and ports available, having a
highway to close proximity is valuable information. The other thing Baton
Rough airport has been doing, but I haven’t checked with them recently
in the past year to see how far along they are but they are basically
making modular housing and modular office space that is located on
airport for use during disasters. So they are taking a lot of the FAA grant
money they’re getting and saying. “Hey, what can we do with this?” They
can lease buildings out to corporations but what about during a disaster.
What can they do to help them out? They’ve been very proactive. I need
to get the guys contact information; he’d be an interesting guy to talk to.
He’s in Louisiana, so he’s a hoot to listen to. But he is very smart, he
knows how to get it funded, he plugs in. Anthony Marino. I’ll forward you
his contact information as well.
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
We have a ceep here, one pylon can be damaged and make the entire
thing structurally unsound. You can damage part of a runway and as long
as it’s not dead smack in the middle of it, you can still usually use that
runway. Example is an airfield in Afghanistan called Jillalabad, we
bombed that runway and we did a lot of damage to it and we shorten its
length significantly. And when the US came there, we ended up landing
on the parts that weren’t destroyed. So, it’s really hard to destroy 2 or 3
miles of asphalt or concrete. So its other resiliency is that most airports
have backup generators that provide lighting and communications to
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radar squads to the ATC facilities. Usually large ramps, they really are
their own self contained cities. That yeah, they still rely on power from
the neighboring community but those generators tend to make them
more resilient. The operators themselves are pretty resourceful folks as
well. You give an aircraft mechanic a problem, they can generally solve it.
Of course, they do have a way to store their own fuel and depending on
how much fuel they are maintaining on hand, that gives you quite a few
days of supply of fuel. They’ve got their equipment correct were they are
using diesel powered vehicles you can put Jet A into diesel powered
vehicle and run it just fine. You’ll have to change out your fuel filter more
often but it’ll still operate.
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
vi. Preparation
vii. Mutual Aid
Southeastern Deadsea operations groups that’s basically an airport
mutual aid group to support other airports and they certainly should be
able to lend assistance to other airports to get them operational as soon
as possible as well as the community.
viii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation

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v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
Yeah, I honestly think for something like that if the airport is
interacting with local and state emergency managers and working
together to see where the problem is and how can the airport
best engage with the planners in helping out.
2. State
Yeah, I honestly think for something like that if the airport is
interacting with local and state emergency managers and working
together to see where the problem is and how can the airport
best engage with the planners in helping out.
But you also see a tendency on the state side that the state does
not want to bring the airports in or just assume they already know
the airports capabilities. Seen that quite a bit, more so in the past
year that states are trying to do planning without the airports; I
think they need to get the airports more engaged. But the states
need to let the airports get engaged as well.
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I think honestly it’s a bit of a castle building or I got my kingdom.
You don’t get the airports involved, you’re not going to get their
say in on it which means I don’t have to listen to them. The
airports have their own concerns and a large part of it is as you’ve
said, returning back to normal business operations as quickly as
possible. Why are the airports their? Ultimately, the airports are
there to service the airlines. Airlines are there to make a profit
anything that interferes with that one is detrimental business. I
really think that it’s not wanting to SOMETHING, straight to the
locals. The state wants to keep a lot of control of that themselves.
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
Just know the resources you have with the airport. I think a lot of people
are surprised that the airport has hangers; they usually have a lot of
warehouses. Can also be temperature control warehouse as well. There’s
an airport in Abu Dhabi that’s on the western coast of Puerto rico that
one of the hangers actually has a refrigerator units in it there; which is
nice for storing perishable items, such as blood, and can be used as a
makeshift morgue. So, knowing what the resources are, and that’s where
the airport needs to be an advocate for itself; attend meetings with
emergency management agencies and let them know what they have
capabilities wise.
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently

181

i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
That’s kind of tough. I think they have a large role in response; immediate
and flexible response. Recovery wise, unless they’re on an island, even if
they’re on an island, I think their role is to get back to business as usual. I
think what you’re looking for is what can they do to help local
communities to recover.
I think it is getting back to normal business, getting people their jobs
back, get the community running as normal. Aviation is very expensive
and in the long haul in recovery, I don’t think it has as much of a role as it
does during the initial response.

ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

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Appendix E - Coded Interview for 11
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
, well I think that I can only speak from the point of the
Federal side and have to. Airports are respondent to their
local communities and whatever standards and mitigation
efforts are being done by their state or local communities.
So, we would encourage state and local governments to
make sure that they are working through the communities
to take whatever mitigation is appropriate for the risk’s
the airport would face. So, in a hurricane area is to make
sure they can withstand the wind damage and things like
that. Again, a lot of that is dependent on the local
community is doing and what their standards are then
what we from the FEMA side would
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
one of the things we do have is that the States have to do
a State mitigation plan that looks at all the hazard they
face within the state and then they would look at how
they can use mitigation dollars they get from the federal
government during disaster to coordinate with the local
government to mitigate against those hazards.
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication

183

b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
From FEMA’s point of view, we don’t come in and direct
any particular organization and that you must take this or
that particular action to mitigate or response to whatever
hazard they facility would face.
ii. Evacuations
. At the same time we would try to get if we have to evacuate
survivors, that is one of the ways we can do that; bring in aircraft,
load up aircraft with survivors on their inbound flight, they bring
the response personnel, on the outbound flight they would take
survivors out of the area.
iii. Bring in Supplies
An example of this would be a Louis Armstrong airport in New
Orleans. Soon as we could get the airport up, we started bringing
in a lot more response folks, especially disaster medical teams,
urban search and rescue teams, things like that.
iv. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
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viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
We look at a response to a natural disaster. One of the things from the
FEMA side use airports for is to bring in before the event will occur we
start to bring in the assets we are going to need in the area that maybe
personnel and a certain amount of equipment. One of the things about
flying in equipment is that you are very limited in what you can fly
because of weight. So, we would try to bring in some our initial response
people and their equipment so they can honker down and ride the
hurricane out and then be ready to come out and start providing
information so that we can start to make better decisions (5:30) once the
hurricane passes. Once the hurricane passes, we try to get airports up as
quickly as possible so that we can once again bring in the personnel and
material that is needed
ii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iii. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
iv. Mutual Aid between airports
v. Evacuations
vi. Dependent on airport infrastructure
vii. Coordinate with governments
viii. Respond to any disaster needs
185

ix. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
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iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
And in many cases you are somewhat limited just by just the number of
assets in the area, if you’re looking at coming in to a coastal area, you
may have only a handful of airports that are close by but you’ve got
several others that maybe 100 miles away and bring things and move
forward. So, we look at all the different option and coordinate with the
state and local governments on how we can bring those things in.
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
187

iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
Also, in the long term on recovery, we have to move most of the material
and supplies by surface. Aircraft movement of supplies is very limited
because of weight so, we’ll be looking at moving a lot of food, water,
emergency supplies, generators, and all that, moving those by trucks,
vehicles and trailers across the country and get them in that way because
we can move much via surface than via air.
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
That would be coordinated and worked out with discussions with
the local government and state. Again, we would coordinate with
the state. The state and local government is always in charge of
the disaster and we are to support and help them with whatever
they need to get done. So, we turn to them, and the tell us what
they need. We say where do you want and they tell us where they
want it. So, when we start initially looking at where do we bring
things in, we coordinate with state and local governments and say
which areas do you want us bring it in and where do you put it. If
we’re going to use this airfield, this is what we are going to bring,
this is how much we are going to need, space we’re going to need
and we coordinate it with them.
2. State governments
That would be coordinated and worked out with discussions with
the local government and state. Again, we would coordinate with
188

the state. The state and local government is always in charge of
the disaster and we are to support and help them with whatever
they need to get done. So, we turn to them, and the tell us what
they need. We say where do you want and they tell us where they
want it. So, when we start initially looking at where do we bring
things in, we coordinate with state and local governments and say
which areas do you want us bring it in and where do you put it. If
we’re going to use this airfield, this is what we are going to bring,
this is how much we are going to need, space we’re going to need
and we coordinate it with them.
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
vi. Mutual Aid
vii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
189

ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
c. Limited Role
You can get a lot more semi trucks moving heavy equipment and a lot of supplies
in many faster than you can by moving it by air, and a lot cheaper. That’s one of
the thing we have to look at. Initially, we’ll bring a lot of thing by air and once
you get that first lift in then you get to that recovery piece, you are trying to
move more and more of it by surface. Now if you’re in an island environment
such as Virgin island or something like that, then you’re a little more limited on
what you can do and you have to move more of it by air but it also takes longer
for that airfield to get able to turn back over to normal air operations, just
because we start bringing in a lot of large cargo aircraft, they take a lot of space
on the ramp and all of the material they bring in with them because it’s just
stacked up in various places until we can move it forward into the communities.
So, it’s a logistical operation that takes a lot of space and a lot of time and if you
have to move large amounts of material (14:48) in the long run, its quicker and
cheaper and more effective to move it via surface. Whether you are moving it via
rail or over truck.
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
190

ii. Protect critical infrastructure
Well again, I think it goes back to some of the thing I’ve said to your first
question. Taking those mitigation steps to strengthen the ability of the
facility to withstand whatever that hazard is. We’re talking hurricane so,
what are steps they can take so that when they face those winds and rains
and all that, that they are able to better stand through all that and to be
able to get back to a functioning capability as soon as possible after the
basic part of the storm has passed. well in think in most cases it would be
the facilities they use on normal bases, things like terminal building so that
they have power, so the roofs stay on and things like that. The facility they
use on a daily bases would have to be something that we would look at
using immediately following the storms so mitigation efforts that they take
would have to be to their normal facilities so their normal facilities are
better able to withstand the storm.
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
191

ii. Deliver goods and services
Well once we begin to bring the response personnel in and getting the
initial influx of people in, one of the things that is important for an airport
to do is to as quickly as possible begin to resume its normal functions.
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
When we look at places to go, we will normally look at a military airfield
as opposed to a commercial airfield because one of the things that we
want to be able to do is allow the community into the commercial airfield
to get back into operations as soon as possible so the economy can get
started again within the community. That’s a very key thing to get going.
And when we start bringing in a lot of material and equipment, especially
by air, we can pretty take up a lot of ramp space by aircraft and staging
things like bottle water and food supplies and things like that. So, we
need to try to move that as quickly as we can out of the airport so that
the airlines can get back into function so they can begin to resume
somewhat normal operations and get the airfield back up and running for
the local economy.
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

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Appendix F - Coded Interview for 4
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Evacuations
5. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ok. Well, our first goal is that we’re the first response, once our runways
and taxiways are clear, especially if we use a hurricane as an example,
that way the aircraft can come in here and out quicker than vehicles can.
So that is our number one goal as far as natural disaster hitting us.

ii. Deal with the hazard
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1. In a systematic approach
What we start doing though actually is that we go and we make
sure everything is topped off, all the fuel facilities, that we have
supplies for after the storm. That everything is secured as far as
are inlets are cleaned out, free of debris, we double check
everything. We do another test on our generators. We check all of
our emergency supplies so we do our precautionary steps there,
we starting bracketing (27:23) everything up in our offices.
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
Well, unfortunately we stay here during the natural disaster. When a
hurricane comes in, my staff and myself we go to the hotel which is
located on the airport we bunker down there until the storms pass.
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts

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ii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iii. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
iv. Mutual Aid between airports
v. Evacuations
Once the storm pass, we clear runways and taxiways get up to as much of
normalcy so the aircrafts can come in and out bringing in supplies, food,
ice, medical attention which is always very important and also evacuating
anyone that needs to be evacuated from the island also
vi. Dependent on airport infrastructure
vii. Coordinate with governments
viii. Respond to any disaster needs
ix. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
Once the storm pass, we clear runways and taxiways get up to as much of
normalcy so the aircrafts can come in and out bringing in supplies, food,
ice, medical attention which is always very important and also evacuating
anyone that needs to be evacuated from the island also
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
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Once the storm pass, we clear runways and taxiways get up to as
much of normalcy so the aircrafts can come in and out bringing in
supplies, food, ice, medical attention which is always very
important and also evacuating anyone that needs to be evacuated
from the island also
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
Sure. One of the ways is that we’re building stronger out here. We’ll take
our terminal for example, and our air filled lighting vault. One of the
things we’ve learned because of the disaster (3:14) so it won’t happen
again, our first floor of our terminal building is strictly the lobbying area.
There is no A/C units down there, there is no electrical other than plugs,
our mechanical room has been moved upstairs, HVAC has been moved
upstairs. All of our vital equipment has been moved to the second floor
built up in pretty much a concrete bunker style facility. So when a storm
does come again, we can quickly clean out the bottom floor and get
people back in here: passengers and equipment and everything else. Our
air filled lighting vault we use to call it a vault because we believed it
could withstand anything Mother Nature gave it but we didn’t take into
consideration our drainage system. The water actually came in through
our drainage system filled up our vault and blow out the walls.
So now our air filled lighting vault sits 16 feet in the air. Concrete facility,
concrete pilling, everything is up in the air the generators, our regulators
all the electrical equipment. So, when the storm does come in, it goes
right through underneath, no major damage done to the facility and we
can get everything lit up again on the runways and taxiways. Those are
just some of the lessons we’ve learned because we are only 4 feet above
sea level on our airport. So, we understand that we will flood but some of
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the things we’re doing is being smarter. All of our navigational aids, and
this is the first time actually for our navigational aids, anywhere in the US,
they’ve done this. They have actually put them on the concrete pilings
and built them up (5:00) so when the flood does come and the water
does come, it just runs underneath it everything else is still operational.
Yes, they are stored in what I call a concrete bunker. It’s all four walls are
concrete, heavy duty steel doors, you know entrance and exit, concrete
roof, so there stout buildings that are built to last.
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
One of the biggest difficulties is equipment wise: keeping your
equipment safe during the storm, to getting it out one taxiways
and runways and start to clear it up. Mainly because of hurricanes
we get storm surges, high-winds so keeping our equipment dry
and safe for recovery is one of our more difficult tasks in hand.
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
First action, we always keep the rest of our airport informed on what is
happening (26:23). We always tell them how out landfall it is and where it
is projected to come to come in. So, the tenants out here can make their
own precautions and decide if they want to evacuate, they want to
shelter in place.
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
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i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
well, recovery we play a very big part, especially on the island for
a natural disaster, its not just the planes and helicopters coming in
and out of here. We are also the staging the area for what I call
FEMA city, we house over 600 FEMA employees on the airport.
One thing great about airports is that we have a lot of concrete
out here. We have two runways, we shut down one of our
runways so we can put what we call FEMA city on there and the
FEMA employees would have a place to stay and they would be
able to go out and do their inspections and comeback and have a
place to stay and eat. Salvation Army and Red Cross were able to
set their facilities up here on our apron area and be able to cook
out here and mobile canteen would come in here and form a
circle, pick their food up and exit out and then go into the
community to feed the public. We have also stored over 58 semitrucks out here loaded with food and ice. One of the good things
about an airport is (7:45) it’s a secured area. We are not in the
middle of the neighborhood, we are on the outskirts of the island
somewhat. So if you are coming out to the airport your coming to
the airport, you’re not going through, going to somewhere else.
So, security wise we are able to contain everything as far as
having our local and state police out here, also the military were
stationed out here to be able to protect the area and protect all
the food because when people need something, they’re desiring
it, people do things they wouldn’t normally do in a natural
disaster.
That’s one thing the military did, they brought in the C130’s and
they started unloading equipment and the SOMETHING that came
onto the island was littered full of boats (8:53), boats from the
gulf of Mexico got washed up and it closed off the highway. You
know what they say, “A mile of highway, gets you a mile down the
road. A mile of runway can get you anywhere in the world” We
clear the runways and we clear 6,000 feet of runway and we can
start bringing in heavy equipment versus you know it will take
awhile for that highway to get cleaned up.

Well, we knew that was going to happen, we knew we were going
to run out of fuel so what we did was we actually started
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rationing, I guess you could say, our fuel. So, when we didn’t need
the control tower working at one time, we would shut down, until
they got communication with their handheld and then would
power back up on our tower, until we got the fuel back on.
(11:21) I think it was roughly 3 days until we got tankers coming
back in here with fuel, not just fuel for generator but fuel for the
aircraft also. I forgot to mention, that is another thing. One of the
staging areas for all the emergency vehicles for fueling wise was
the airport. We have an area here that they could come in with
the tanker trucks lined up the vehicle would come in, get fueled
up, and go on about their way. Of course this was only for
emergency personnel, it wasn’t for the public. That was one of the
reasons why they kept it out here, at the airport. Again, the
military and the police can stop and block off the roads to prevent
access from the public to come here. That was one of the
problems they were having, especially with the fuel. They were
trying to do satellite areas for fuel and once the public sees the
fuel trucks and you need fuel, they’re going to go to an that just
causes problems
3. To bring in supplies
Once the storm pass, we clear runways and taxiways get up to as
much of normalcy so the aircrafts can come in and out bringing in
supplies, food, ice, medical attention which is always very
important and also evacuating anyone that needs to be evacuated
from the island also
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
You know problems we always have and anytime after a natural disaster,
no matter where you are at, the issue you always have is fuel. The
generators are great but then getting fuel after the fuel is done in the
generator. Once they have used it all not being able to get that fuel fast
enough. So that was our only difficult problem we were really actually
only having.
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
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ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
What we should be doing to prevent is being able to open up and
become operational as quickly as possible. That’s what we should do to
prevent a disaster because that’s our main goal. I always tell my staff that
our number one goal is to get out there and clear the runways and
taxiways of the apron and everything else is second.
Hardwork. Dumptrucks, Frontend Loaders, starting at one end of the
runway and going to the next and removing any debris that is on the
runways and taxiways and getting it out of harm’s way (20:35). Doing a
visual inspection as far as making sure none of the pavement has given
away; no cracks have formed, no concrete slabs have moved or anything,
the drainage is open, the inlets are open as far as water to flow off and
then to notify FAA that we are open be it day operations or daytime and
nighttime.
iii. Shelter
b. Act independently
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i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
What we start doing though actually is that we go and we make sure
everything is topped off, all the fuel facilities, that we have supplies for
after the storm. That everything is secured as far as are inlets are cleaned
out, free of debris, we double check everything. We do another test on
our generators. We check all of our emergency supplies so we do our
precautionary steps there, we starting bracketing (27:23) everything up in
our offices.
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
vi. Mutual Aid
vii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
Yes, what is unusual about Galveston Island is we have a very large
hospital district here. It has a very large prenatal facility, a lot of research,
a lot of burn patients and not only are we the first responders but
actually before the storm we are the main evacuation area for those
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patients. Before a storm, our ramp area is full of helicopters and 6 wing
evacuating patents out and vice versa; when someone gets injured on the
island they are airlifted out of here. They are not taken by ambulance
because it takes too long; they are either taken out by helicopter or 6
wing from this airport.
Yes, for evacuation I always tell everyone because my helicopter
company is here that are the airport they have bases all up and down the
Gulf of Mexico. They have bases all over the world, Nigeria, South
America. You name it they have a base there: Antarctica. They’re
professionals at evacuating. I always tell my county commissioners, they
always ask, what can they do to assist the helicopter companies. What
we can do is stay out of their way. They are very good at what they do
(16:00) they bring in their 18-wheelers, they load up their equipment and
everything, they start evacuating as soon as a hurricane enters the Gulf of
Mexico.
(16:09)
No matter where its coming in. They start pulling people of the
SOMETHING immediately. Then they start moving all their equipment
and their personnel out of harm’s way. Of course we keep our tenets
notified by internet and word of mouth of what the situation is. How
many hours away is the hurricane, possibility of evacuation because that
way those pilots can get the aircraft off the island and comeback to the
island and start worrying about their households, persons, their families,
their businesses, etc. So, we have our minor exercises that we do as far
as, we button down everything in our terminal building or offices
upstairs; make sure our fire department they’ve got their vehicles up on
higher grounds as far as their fire trucks and everything. Of course, like
the hospital, they are literally the last to decide when to evacuate
because it’s not only very expensive but it’s also very traumatizing I guess
you could say for a patient of a baby moved out their hospital loaded on
an aircraft and flown away somewhere. You now don’t only have to
worry about the patient but then you have the family, kinda visiting that
patient. So, they are the last ones to know, literally two days before the
storm hits, the hospital says ok, we’re evacuating now. So, it’s literally a
mass sky opening up and the planes and helicopters come in and they
start this mass evacuation of the hospital.

v. Take lead role in recovery
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What should our response be? We should be the first responders. We
can activate, we can open up quicker than anywhere else, as far as access
to and from this island. That is always are main role to be first
responders.
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
c. Limited Role
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
That we have started already. Not practically, we took hard look
immediately after the storm of how we could prevent this becoming a
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disaster like it did before. Like I said, we build higher, which is what we’re
currently doing right now. We’re making sure everything is elevated up
that can be elevated up. We know there are somethings, like our lobby;
we can’t elevate the lobby; it’s a 1950 terminal buildings. Our hangers
have to be ground level, for the aircraft to be able to get in and out. One
of the things we are doing is improving our drainage system out here.
We’re about to spend 3 million dollars just on our drainage system, get
the water off quicker. Once that phase is done, we’ll do another phase.
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
What we should be doing to prevent is being able to open up and
become operational as quickly as possible. That’s what we should do to
prevent a disaster because that’s our main goal. I always tell my staff that
our number one goal is to get out there and clear the runways and
taxiways of the apron and everything else is second.
Hardwork. Dumptrucks, Frontend Loaders, starting at one end of the
runway and going to the next and removing any debris that is on the
runways and taxiways and getting it out of harm’s way (20:35). Doing a
visual inspection as far as making sure none of the pavement has given
away; no cracks have formed, no concrete slabs have moved or anything,
the drainage is open, the inlets are open as far as water to flow off and
then to notify FAA that we are open be it day operations or daytime and
nighttime.
vi. Update Emergency plan
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
For recovering from a natural disaster, we should be the staging area for
those emergency personnel and those emergency facilities because we
204

have the area for, the room for it. Salvation Army, American Red Cross,
FEMA, the supplies, because we have the concrete area for it but keeping
it in mind that we are one airport and our main goal and responsibility is
to bring aircraft in and out after that disaster for relief. We found a good
balance between the two.
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
Limited/unknown roll

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Appendix G - Coded Interview for 4
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Evacuations
5. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
We have a pretty well thought out and pretty consistent hurricane
readiness and recovery plan here. It’s based on 5 opcons or
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operational conditions. And we generally, initiate the first opcon
about 72 hours before a storm may strike. It’s a check list based
on each opcon, on what are we doing, what should we be doing at
this particular stage of the game. 72 hours out, we’re going to
start looking at procuring additional supplies, what’s the
availability of water if we do have to have a ride out crew from
the airlines, who’s going to be coming over. From the airport
who’s going to be coming over. We’ll put those lists together and
as the storm approaches and gets closer and closer we’ll elevate
the opcon to a 3 or 2 or 1 and the scope gets narrower and
narrower. Finally, when we are at opcon 1, we’re sending home
non-essential staff, we’re getting them out in time to evacuate,
what the mandated evacuation schedule. So we do have a
skeleton crew of airport staff, airport operations folks, just critical
workforce that are here to just keep the airport open. Those that
are most capable of reacting and getting it back open in a timely
manner. And that’s to get it open to 139 specifications, not to
serve commercial aircraft immediately. Our primary function is to
get the lights, the runway lights on and make sure the pavement
is ok. Opcon 0 is a rideout, opcon negative 1, negative 2 they are
primary financial recovery, repairs, putting the building back
together,
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
Not directly, CEMA handles that, the city itself doesn’t head up the
evacuation plan, the county emergency management agency. They take
the helm on that, our only involvement in the evacuation is if there are
any stranded passengers here in the airport we will assist them in getting
to the prescribed evacuation site, which is Augusta.
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
207

i. Can’t get proper personnel their
If we were to get a full scale direct hit from a hurricane a catastrophic hit,
the likelihood that delta and US airways would want to be sending in and
out of here is pretty slim in the first 48 hours. Beyond that, once we
establish our beachhead sort of speak on the east side of the airport, we
would be looking to resume commercial services as soon as possible.
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
We serve as a critical work force staging location for about 500 utility
folk, law enforcement, fire, rescue, that sort of thing. IN the event of a
hurricane were to come ashore, Katrina type of situation, were it’s a
catastrophic type of event, we don’t foresee functioning as a 1542
certified airport so we would largely a repository for relief supplies. I
mean this is where they would be sent via heavy lift aircraft or helicopter
because we are more accessible than hunter airfield is.
Not currently. The nature of the storm there so unpredictable that the
most we can do to prepare for it is to work closely CEMA Chatta
Emergency Management Agency and make sure that their airplanes are
in sync with our own hurricane and rediness and recovery plan and make
sure that everyone is on the same page and is prepared.
Ok, the airlines, they’re not going to put a multi-million dollar airplane in
here if they think there is a hurricane coming, they’re going to get all of
their critical metal out of here well before it comes in. I’d be very surprise
to see if any airline wants to operate with 12 hours of a forecast landfall.
The airline would be gone. Each of the airlines will take their heaviest
equipment, their critical ground equipment (10:53) or their carts, things
that are likely to be caught in the wind and blow, they’ll stage those in their
respective bag makeup areas, in their lease holds. That would leave tug
tunnel, quite a bit of shelter curb side that we would stage the utility
trucks, fire and emergency trucks, police vehicles, etc., right up against the
building undercover so they are not directly in the path of wind or
damaging things caught in the wind. Emergency vehicles, the parking of
those is going to be directed by the chief of police, he’ll be the primary
point of contact for all law enforcement they’d be riding out the storm here
at the airport. The fire chief would stage additional fire equipment at some
shelter locations across the airport. And all local fire ride out crews would
get in touch with the chief warton out at art station.
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location

208

v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
ii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iii. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
iv. Mutual Aid between airports
v. Evacuations
vi. Dependent on airport infrastructure
vii. Coordinate with governments
viii. Respond to any disaster needs
ix. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
We’re going to need all hands on deck doing airport things rather than
flowing out through the community to make sure things are getting
better and bringing the hotels on airport property back up to speed. We
are here to operate this airport and the community should be able to
take care of itself if the county’s plans and the city’s plans are all coming
together.
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
We want to make sure that after the storm, the terminal is going to be able
to be useable for some function. After we get the concrete certified for
use, we are going to turn our attention to the terminal building so that we
can get Delta Air and US united and get them operating again so we can
start making some money. The runway comes first, the airfield comes first
and then the terminal is number 2.
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v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
We deal with federal regulations that dictate how airports operation and
that’s our wheelhouse, we’ve leave the community betterment to the
emergency management agencies.
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
Chatta Emergency Management they take that role, again our
responsibility to best serve the community is to keep those
runways open.
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
210

vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
I hate to keep harping on this central topic, but an airport, airport
professionals, only know airport. Most airports, they may have a weather
guy but he’s probably not a meteorologist, he’s probably an amateur
weather fan. The airport professionals know how to keep runways open
so that airplanes can come and go. It’s my conservative opinion the best
211

way they can assist a community is to keep that runway open. if we were
to metal in some other job description or task, that is taking away our
core function. Particularly during a storm when we are used to having a
100 people and that’s all of a sudden cut down to 30, we don’t have a
whole lot of time during the disaster, during the rebuilding other than
maybe some volunteer work with the staff that wouldn’t be needed yet.
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
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We’re not really in that business. We are here to keep the runways open
and to keep the air service coming and going into and out of Savanah.
During a hurricane we are kind of greedy in opening ourselves open for
the utilities and things like electric, water and gas because we know if
those folks are based here, we’re going to be turned on first so that we
can function as an airbase as an airport so those relief supplies can come
streaming in. And, O, by the way, our lights would already be on when
Delta and US air are ready to come in. Beyond that we are not
immediately interested in providing and serving in a tent city or Red
Cross location or anything like that. We’re here to be an airport and
that’s the business we’re in.
v. Communicate Information
vi. Mutual Aid
vii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
We’re not really in that business. We are here to keep the runways open
and to keep the air service coming and going into and out of Savanah.
During a hurricane we are kind of greedy in opening ourselves open for
the utilities and things like electric, water and gas because we know if
those folks are based here, we’re going to be turned on first so that we
can function as an airbase as an airport so those relief supplies can come
streaming in. And, O, by the way, our lights would already be on when
Delta and US air are ready to come in. Beyond that we are not
immediately interested in providing and serving in a tent city or Red
Cross location or anything like that. We’re here to be an airport and
that’s the business we’re in.

213

iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
c. Limited Role
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
214

iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
I hate to keep harping on this central topic, but an airport, airport
professionals, only know airport. Most airports, they may have a weather
guy but he’s probably not a meteorologist, he’s probably an amateur
weather fan. The airport professionals know how to keep runways open
so that airplanes can come and go. It’s my conservative opinion the best
way they can assist a community is to keep that runway open. if we were
to metal in some other job description or task, that is taking away our
core function. Particularly during a storm when we are used to having a
100 people and that’s all of a sudden cut down to 30, we don’t have a
whole lot of time during the disaster, during the rebuilding other than
maybe some volunteer work with the staff that wouldn’t be needed yet.
vi. Update Emergency plan
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
Not one that I’ve really paid attention to. We’re simply, I keep going back
to this central theme, but we’re a pair of heavy concrete runways for
landing airplanes on. We can best serve our communities by keeping
those runways open and keeping aviation coming and going into and out
of Savannah.
ii. Respond to other airports in need
We’ve never really had to do that before. We’ve always responded to
other airport in need and we’ve not so much worked directly with FEMA
215

or Georgia Emergency Management. We’ve worked through SEADOG,
southeast aviation disaster operations group; it’s kind of an informal
arrangement of other airports going to the rescue of an airport in need to
get it up and running. We’ll get our mission number from the state before
going in and we’ll do our own airport-centric rescue just to get the airport
up and running and then that local, the county local emergency
management or state can then take over and then come to the aid of the
community at large.
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
Limited/unknown roll

216

Appendix H - Coded Interview for 6
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Evacuations
5. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
We have a pretty well thought out and pretty consistent hurricane
readiness and recovery plan here. It’s based on 5 opcons or
operational conditions. And we generally, initiate the first opcon
about 72 hours before a storm may strike. It’s a check list based
217

on each opcon, on what are we doing, what should we be doing at
this particular stage of the game. 72 hours out, we’re going to
start looking at procuring additional supplies, what’s the
availability of water if we do have to have a ride out crew from
the airlines, who’s going to be coming over. From the airport
who’s going to be coming over. We’ll put those lists together and
as the storm approaches and gets closer and closer we’ll elevate
the opcon to a 3 or 2 or 1 and the scope gets narrower and
narrower. Finally, when we are at opcon 1, we’re sending home
non-essential staff, we’re getting them out in time to evacuate,
what the mandated evacuation schedule. So we do have a
skeleton crew of airport staff, airport operations folks, just critical
workforce that are here to just keep the airport open. Those that
are most capable of reacting and getting it back open in a timely
manner. And that’s to get it open to 139 specifications, not to
serve commercial aircraft immediately. Our primary function is to
get the lights, the runway lights on and make sure the pavement
is ok. Opcon 0 is a rideout, opcon negative 1, negative 2 they are
primary financial recovery, repairs, putting the building back
together,
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
Not directly, CEMA handles that, the city itself doesn’t head up the
evacuation plan, the county emergency management agency. They take
the helm on that, our only involvement in the evacuation is if there are
any stranded passengers here in the airport we will assist them in getting
to the prescribed evacuation site, which is Augusta.
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their

218

If we were to get a full scale direct hit from a hurricane a catastrophic hit,
the likelihood that delta and US airways would want to be sending in and
out of here is pretty slim in the first 48 hours. Beyond that, once we
establish our beachhead sort of speak on the east side of the airport, we
would be looking to resume commercial services as soon as possible.
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
We serve as a critical work force staging location for about 500 utility
folk, law enforcement, fire, rescue, that sort of thing. IN the event of a
hurricane were to come ashore, Katrina type of situation, were it’s a
catastrophic type of event, we don’t foresee functioning as a 1542
certified airport so we would largely a repository for relief supplies. I
mean this is where they would be sent via heavy lift aircraft or helicopter
because we are more accessible than hunter airfield is.
Not currently. The nature of the storm there so unpredictable that the
most we can do to prepare for it is to work closely CEMA Chatta
Emergency Management Agency and make sure that their airplanes are
in sync with our own hurricane and readiness and recovery plan and
make sure that everyone is on the same page and is prepared.
Ok, the airlines, they’re not going to put a multi-million dollar airplane in
here if they think there is a hurricane coming, they’re going to get all of
their critical metal out of here well before it comes in. I’d be very surprise
to see if any airline wants to operate with 12 hours of a forecast landfall.
The airline would be gone. Each of the airlines will take their heaviest
equipment, their critical ground equipment (10:53) or their carts, things
that are likely to be caught in the wind and blow, they’ll stage those in their
respective bag makeup areas, in their lease holds. That would leave tug
tunnel, quite a bit of shelter curb side that we would stage the utility
trucks, fire and emergency trucks, police vehicles, etc., right up against the
building undercover so they are not directly in the path of wind or
damaging things caught in the wind. Emergency vehicles, the parking of
those is going to be directed by the chief of police, he’ll be the primary
point of contact for all law enforcement they’d be riding out the storm here
at the airport. The fire chief would stage additional fire equipment at some
shelter locations across the airport. And all local fire ride out crews would
get in touch with the chief warton out at art station.
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter

219

vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
ii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iii. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
iv. Mutual Aid between airports
v. Evacuations
vi. Dependent on airport infrastructure
vii. Coordinate with governments
viii. Respond to any disaster needs
ix. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
We’re going to need all hands on deck doing airport things rather than
flowing out through the community to make sure things are getting
better and bringing the hotels on airport property back up to speed. We
are here to operate this airport and the community should be able to
take care of itself if the county’s plans and the city’s plans are all coming
together.
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
We want to make sure that after the storm, the terminal is going to be able
to be useable for some function. After we get the concrete certified for
use, we are going to turn our attention to the terminal building so that we
can get Delta Air and US united and get them operating again so we can
start making some money. The runway comes first, the airfield comes first
and then the terminal is number 2.
v. Shelter
220

vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
We deal with federal regulations that dictate how airports operation and
that’s our wheelhouse, we’ve leave the community betterment to the
emergency management agencies.
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
Chatta Emergency Management they take that role, again our
responsibility to best serve the community is to keep those
runways open.
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
221

c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
I hate to keep harping on this central topic, but an airport, airport
professionals, only know airport. Most airports, they may have a weather
guy but he’s probably not a meteorologist, he’s probably an amateur
weather fan. The airport professionals know how to keep runways open
so that airplanes can come and go. It’s my conservative opinion the best
way they can assist a community is to keep that runway open. if we were
to metal in some other job description or task, that is taking away our
222

core function. Particularly during a storm when we are used to having a
100 people and that’s all of a sudden cut down to 30, we don’t have a
whole lot of time during the disaster, during the rebuilding other than
maybe some volunteer work with the staff that wouldn’t be needed yet.
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
We’re not really in that business. We are here to keep the runways open
and to keep the air service coming and going into and out of Savannah.
223

During a hurricane we are kind of greedy in opening ourselves open for
the utilities and things like electric, water and gas because we know if
those folks are based here, we’re going to be turned on first so that we
can function as an airbase as an airport so those relief supplies can come
streaming in. And, O, by the way, our lights would already be on when
Delta and US air are ready to come in. Beyond that we are not
immediately interested in providing and serving in a tent city or Red
Cross location or anything like that. We’re here to be an airport and
that’s the business we’re in.
v. Communicate Information
vi. Mutual Aid
vii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
We’re not really in that business. We are here to keep the runways open
and to keep the air service coming and going into and out of Savannah.
During a hurricane we are kind of greedy in opening ourselves open for
the utilities and things like electric, water and gas because we know if
those folks are based here, we’re going to be turned on first so that we
can function as an airbase as an airport so those relief supplies can come
streaming in. And, O, by the way, our lights would already be on when
Delta and US air are ready to come in. Beyond that we are not
immediately interested in providing and serving in a tent city or Red
Cross location or anything like that. We’re here to be an airport and
that’s the business we’re in.
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery

224

vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
c. Limited Role
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
225

I hate to keep harping on this central topic, but an airport, airport
professionals, only know airport. Most airports, they may have a weather
guy but he’s probably not a meteorologist, he’s probably an amateur
weather fan. The airport professionals know how to keep runways open
so that airplanes can come and go. It’s my conservative opinion the best
way they can assist a community is to keep that runway open. if we were
to metal in some other job description or task, that is taking away our
core function. Particularly during a storm when we are used to having a
100 people and that’s all of a sudden cut down to 30, we don’t have a
whole lot of time during the disaster, during the rebuilding other than
maybe some volunteer work with the staff that wouldn’t be needed yet.
vi. Update Emergency plan
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
Not one that I’ve really paid attention to. We’re simply, I keep going back
to this central theme, but we’re a pair of heavy concrete runways for
landing airplanes on. We can best serve our communities by keeping
those runways open and keeping aviation coming and going into and out
of Savannah.
ii. Respond to other airports in need
We’ve never really had to do that before. We’ve always responded to
other airport in need and we’ve not so much worked directly with FEMA
or Georgia Emergency Management. We’ve worked through SEADOG,
southeast aviation disaster operations group; it’s kind of an informal
arrangement of other airports going to the rescue of an airport in need to
226

get it up and running. We’ll get our mission number from the state before
going in and we’ll do our own airport-centric rescue just to get the airport
up and running and then that local, the county local emergency
management or state can then take over and then come to the aid of the
community at large.
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

227

Appendix I – Coded Interview for 9
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Airlines
5. Evacuations
6. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
During the approach of hurricane, their role is to primarily safety of
passengers and equipment and aircraft and communication to the public
as regard to flight delays and cancellations and things like that.

228

ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
No, again, I think we have a great relationship with Tampa International
Airport, which is the specific one I am referring to. I think they are very
good and very well versed and well practiced at taking mitigation efforts
to ensure that they are resilient and can return to normal operations as
soon as possible. They don’t really rely on us to do so. They take these
steps on their own devises in order to again, balance the competing
demands of economic and passenger convenience and public safety and
resiliency.
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts

229

In response as well as recovery, again, the airport falls back to the major
role of a transportation provider as well as a large footprint, geographically
in the community, they have a large open spaces, large empty hangers that
can be used for logistical supplies and equipment
ii. Bring in recovery supplies
In response as well as recovery, again, the airport falls back to the major
role of a transportation provider as well as a large footprint,
geographically in the community, they have a large open spaces, large
empty hangers that can be used for logistical supplies and equipment
iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports
vi. Evacuations
Then we have not only exercise and train but we utilized the airport’s
resource to receive patents from Haiti and most recently and a few years
ago, we received patents from the New Orleans area following Katrina.
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
viii. Coordinate with governments
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
230

a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
Well, the Haiti example is probably the most recent and I was
directly involved with that so I can to that. For the most part, we
were receiving trauma patents from Haiti and were transferred to
local hospitals and trauma centers. Then there follow up care was
coordinated through the children’s department of families and
various non-profit groups. Basically, they were assigned case
workers to help them transition from the hospital setting to the
assisted living or long term care facilities until their medical needs
were such that they could be re-patriated. They were existing
facilities. They’re hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers,
etc
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Practice disaster scenarios
Again, we participate with the airport in their triennial; they do a full
scale response exercise. We just did one back in April, which involved,
city, county, federal partners, coast guard, the airport.
v. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
Protecting your infrastructure so when the weather clears you can be
more resilient and get back to business as soon as possible.
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational

231

Protecting your infrastructure so when the weather clears you can
be more resilient and get back to business as soon as possible.
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
they have a large open spaces, large empty hangers that can be
used for logistical supplies and equipment

3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
they have a large open spaces, large empty hangers that
can be used for logistical supplies and equipment

ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system

232

iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
233

ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
Yeah, I think that’s appropriate (the same as the “is” question). They have
to balance the economic demands of the airlines and the passengers with
the safety considerations with the weather. Here in Florida, we do have
sometimes, on a daily bases with our summer thunderstorms. Lots of rain
and things like that. We get lots of wild variations of our weather almost
daily during our summer. So, our airports, I think are well versed and
practiced in implementing those procedures to protect passengers and
aircraft while at the same time trying to minimize the economic impact
and inconvenience on travelers.
vi. Preparation
vii. Mutual Aid
viii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently

234

i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
You have to take those steps to protect infrastructure and aircraft.
Sometimes to the detriment of economic or passengers inconvenience,
but in the long term strategic sense, taking those actions keeps your
airport up and running and your aircraft flying
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
c. Limited Role
i. Dependent on airport
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
You have to take those steps to protect infrastructure and aircraft.
Sometimes to the detriment of economic or passengers inconvenience,
but in the long term strategic sense, taking those actions keeps your
airport up and running and your aircraft flying
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
235

ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
Here in local community, we’ve used empty hangers for relief centers and
exercises and things like that. We’ve used reception lounges for receipt
of incoming patents from Haiti. Again, I don’t know if there is a shortage
of resources, the airport has those resources and there is certainly no
roadblock to us as a community to use those resources.
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
We need the runways to be open and the aircrafts to be safe and able to
fly. We need the airport concourses to be open and operational.
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll
236

Appendix J – Coded Interview for 10
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
Well, our job would be to coordinate with local city of
Philadelphia officials, State, Federal and anybody and
everybody. And looking at what is coming and the impact
Philadelphia and or the surrounding area. So, we are going
to work with the airlines and tenants and the FAA control
tower and the FAA folk to look at what’s coming and
probably and possible intax to the airport and the people
that work or travel to the airport. And what makes the
most sense in an emergency preparedness standpoint. A
lot of those decisions are not in our hands.
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
Well, our job would be to coordinate with local city of
Philadelphia officials, State, Federal and anybody and
everybody. And looking at what is coming and the impact
Philadelphia and or the surrounding area. So, we are going
to work with the airlines and tenants and the FAA control
tower and the FAA folk to look at what’s coming and
probably and possible intax to the airport and the people
that work or travel to the airport. And what makes the
most sense in an emergency preparedness standpoint. A
lot of those decisions are not in our hands.
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
237

Well, our job would be to coordinate with local city of
Philadelphia officials, State, Federal and anybody and
everybody. And looking at what is coming and the impact
Philadelphia and or the surrounding area. So, we are going
to work with the airlines and tenants and the FAA control
tower and the FAA folk to look at what’s coming and
probably and possible intax to the airport and the people
that work or travel to the airport. And what makes the
most sense in an emergency preparedness standpoint. A
lot of those decisions are not in our hands.
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
The airlines are going to make their own decisions on how
to change their flight schedules. the FAA is going to decide
on what to do as far as the air traffic systems and shutting
space down or rerouting planes. So, not all the decisions
are our per se but we’re kind of the middle man. We’re
going to work with the information that the local officials
are dealing with and how they want the region to prepare
for it and help kind of make that happen here with what
the airports roles is with the airlines and tenets that
operate here.
4. Airlines
Well, our job would be to coordinate with local city of
Philadelphia officials, State, Federal and anybody and everybody.
And looking at what is coming and the impact Philadelphia and or
the surrounding area. So, we are going to work with the airlines
and tenants and the FAA control tower and the FAA folk to look at
what’s coming and probably and possible intax to the airport and
the people that work or travel to the airport. And what makes the
most sense in an emergency preparedness standpoint. A lot of
those decisions are not in our hands.
5. Evacuations
6. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
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i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
The airlines are going to make their own decisions on how to
change their flight schedules. the FAA is going to decide on what
to do as far as the air traffic systems and shutting space down or
rerouting planes. So, not all the decisions are our per se but we’re
kind of the middle man. We’re going to work with the information
that the local officials are dealing with and how they want the
region to prepare for it and help kind of make that happen here
with what the airports roles is with the airlines and tenets that
operate here.
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently

239

i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
ii. Bring in recovery supplies
iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports
vi. Evacuations
We’ve been used a couple of different ways. During hurricane Katrina, we
did set up Philadelphia airport as a place to take relief flights. We did take
one flight during Katrina about 70 people. We set up a building that we
no longer have, we demolished it, we had the Red Cross and all these
different agencies here and we set up pretty much when people walked
off the flight their medical needs could be met, their housing needs could
be met, their financial needs could be met. We had people here to help
people go from having total destruction in the New Orleans area to
arriving in Philadelphia, not even knowing they were going to
Philadelphia until they were almost here. We have also dealt with, back
in 2007 when there was the unrest in Lebanon, when they started
evacuating people, the state department in that area because of the civil
unrest we took dozen of flights. Some were US citizens, some were just
people that were flown out of the country and out of the region and
were flown to different airports in the county. They call it repatronizations, they were basically evacuating people from Lebanon and
they were bringing them to Philadelphia and other airports to get them
out of the war zone. We set up, again the same thing; we had medical
people here to evaluate their needs, people here to financial. A lot of
people here in Philadelphia airport were coming here to stay, then taking
a flight to somewhere in the country to go stay with friends or relatives;
we would help them book fights or help them work with the airlines to
get what they need to book a flight or find a way to get them where they
need to be. We bus people all over the city. Some people we bus to
shelters. When the whole earthquake in Haiti happened last year, we set
up an entire plan with the federal government. Are you familiar with the
national disaster medical system plan?

To basically if they started to evacuate more people out of Haiti, they
would come on military planes and come to whatever federal centers
that were activated to basically bring these people into the region and
240

match them up to the proper facility they needed. If they need certain
medical treatment, match them up with that. If they needed (40:03) just
housing and other things, you do that. They were citizens of Haiti, none
of them were really US citizens unlike the re-patronization event we did
from Lebanon
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
viii. Coordinate with governments
1. Local
Then you obviously get into being prepared for an emergency and
having your emergency plans and coordinating with all the local
emergency responders on and off the airport. You know and
obviously I said in the beginning of this answer it was the short
term, you know handling when the emergency would happened
(5:00) whatever it would be to save life’s and reduce the damage
to the facility and other people’s equipment and their property
2. State
3. Federal
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
And you know obviously, at some point when that part ends and you get
our search and rescue when evacuation and you get into more recovery
mode where you start assessing the damage, what’s needed to get the
airport open, what’s needed to get the employees, whether it be medical
counseling or assistance or whatever they need to help them move
forward because obviously you know, if its effect the airport, it’s a good
chance its effecting a lot of the personal lives of the people here. People’s
heads can be at work when you know they may have lost every too in
whatever disaster may have happened, depending on, again a natural
disaster or man-made and the scope of it.

ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
241

First, short term, we are going to work with the incident commander,
whether that would be fire or police to mitigate the actual emergency
going on; whether it’s an aircraft, security emergency, natural disaster.
So, we are going to work to save lives and reduce property damage and
go through the process of that part of the response first.
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
Whether it is evacuating people from the airport to other parts of
the city. Again being that the airport is owned and operated by
the city of Philadelphia
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
Then you obviously get into being prepared for an emergency and
having your emergency plans and coordinating with all the local
emergency responders on and off the airport. You know and
obviously I said in the beginning of this answer it was the short
term, you know handling when the emergency would happened
(5:00) whatever it would be to save life’s and reduce the damage
to the facility and other people’s equipment and their property
So, I think our roles is to work with the local officials, being the
City of Philadelphia and the surrounding area and help the airport
be part of the entire regional planning on how to mitigate people
here at the airport;
2. Work with state agencies
242

3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Practice disaster scenarios
v. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
Then you obviously get into being prepared for an emergency and
having your emergency plans and coordinating with all the local
emergency responders on and off the airport. You know and
obviously I said in the beginning of this answer it was the short
term, you know handling when the emergency would happened
(5:00) whatever it would be to save life’s and reduce the damage
to the facility and other people’s equipment and their property
So, we are going to look to mitigate and do things around the
airport to help reduce the likelihood of injury or facility damage;
whether that is how we response or where we tell people go
during an emergency. How we have building standards enacted in
a city or at the airport.
Well what we have done obviously is that we have the I think it’s
called FOCA. I think that’s the organization that puts out all the
construction standards. We obviously make sure that our
construction standards meet federal, state, local guidelines. They
have earthquake, I guess earthquake resistant type of
construction although that is somewhat false since no building is
really resistant but they are designed to withstand it better. Part
of it again is building codes and standards making sure as far as
life saving requirements for emergency and lighting of exits, all
the little things that go in to designing and building. Building
structures with the flood plain in mind and what parts of the
airport are susceptible to flooding and where do you put your
electrical substations. And how do you have your electrical path
power in and out of your facility, what kind of redundant power
do you have to keep your facility operating if you lose some
commercial feed or some commercial power. So, as we go
forward with the airport, we are always looking at the data that is
available being that we are right next to Delaware River. What
areas of the airport floods? What can we do to mitigate that? Is
243

there anything we can do to mitigate or just know that when we
get X amount of feet above the Ohio water mark you are going to
have this kind of potential flooding. So, those are the kind of ways
we mitigate whether, and mitigated as far as planning to.
I think as far as preventing a hazard is to properly prepare and try
to mitigate for what you can plan for. Whether that is how you
design your roads, you design your property or your fences to
prevent the hazard from happening if possible.
Well obviously being an airport, there are federal regulations that we
have to follow. So, the first is assessing the airport, the runways,
taxiways, from a FAA standpoint. What do we have available to be able to
open.
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
Did our fire station or ARF station is that available, are the fire trucks
available. Obviously without firetrucks to run emergency services, we
can’t reopen. So, we have to look at what resources we that we need to
have functioning to report from a airfield perspective.
iv. Communication
So, those are the kind of ways we mitigate whether, and mitigated as far
as planning to. I guess that somewhat fall under preparedness. But also
mitigating in making sure that the airlines and tenets that operate here
know this information and make sure that their construction and
standards adhere to what is required to make sure what they’re doing is
going to not put that specific company in harm’s way or susceptible to
problems because they want to build it this way because it is cheaper and
easier versus the way that we require because we want to make sure that
it’s done with the big picture in mind.
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
244

iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
Obviously starting the assessment of the airport property and what.
Looking at, not an insurance standpoint, although that is going to come
into play pretty darn quickly, but from a what is the status of the runway.
What is the status of our electrical power for the runways? What’s the
status of the airport buildings, are they safe, is there a gas main break,
unknown hazards.
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
So, we are going to look at public information, trying to get out public
information about the airport. You know, “Hey, we’re open, we’re close,
check for your flights before you come here.”

So, our recovery is going to try to be to restore the airport and the local
community to the best of our ability to pre-emergency level of condition.
So, for recovery we’re going to working with the airlines and tenets who
have equipment here that may have been (15:00) damage or who lease
space from us that may have been damaged. Some airlines rent from us
245

and they are responsible for all the maintenance in the space they lease.
Some of them they are not, the airport is responsible. So, we have look at
what is the airliner or tenet responsible for, what resources do they have
to effect, to fix those thing even though its their legal responsibility that
something had to be the airport, landlord owner of the facility that we
kind of take on the big role and do it and work out the financial part of it
later. That’s something you do with the insurance carriers and insurance
risk management, that’s something that is probably above my level but
you know most of the airlines and tenants are going to look at the airport
to say “This part of my space is not useable because of this, I need you to
fix it.” And then we are going to work with the resources we have;
electrical companies, electrical contractors, companies that fix asphalt
and concrete, people that fix buildings and repair buildings and roofs.
And we are going to work to procure their services to get the airport
infrastructure back to a useable point where the airlines can bet back to
flying.
iv. personnel stuff
Well, I think in recovery, we are going to look at the individual people.
Crisis counseling, the emergency responders, the people that maybe they
weren’t involved with the emergency response at the airport but they’ve
been affected; you know, maybe their lives have been altered or changed
so trying to make sure that we look at the counseling needs of the
people; medical assistance, long term needed for people that may have
been injured while working.
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
So, our recovery is going to try to be to restore the airport and the local
community to the best of our ability to pre-emergency level of condition.
So, for recovery we’re going to working with the airlines and tenets who
have equipment here that may have been (15:00) damage or who lease
space from us that may have been damaged. Some airlines rent from us
and they are responsible for all the maintenance in the space they lease.
Some of them they are not, the airport is responsible. So, we have look at
what is the airliner or tenet responsible for, what resources do they have
to effect, to fix those thing even though its their legal responsibility that
something had to be the airport, landlord owner of the facility that we
kind of take on the big role and do it and work out the financial part of it
later. That’s something you do with the insurance carriers and insurance
risk management, that’s something that is probably above my level but
you know most of the airlines and tenants are going to look at the airport
to say “This part of my space is not useable because of this, I need you to
fix it.” And then we are going to work with the resources we have;
246

electrical companies, electrical contractors, companies that fix asphalt
and concrete, people that fix buildings and repair buildings and roofs.
And we are going to work to procure their services to get the airport
infrastructure back to a useable point where the airlines can bet back to
flying.
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
That obviously we need power to have airlines check their passengers for
TSA to screen people, to screen baggage, again is there enough space for
the airlines and tenets to operate their line of business to be able to
operate.
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
247

1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
I think that is a pretty fair role for us. Realizing that our resources are
limited to what revenue is generated on the airport form PFCs or other
rates and charges we get from airlines and tenets. We have a
responsibility to make sure that the money that the airlines pay to lease
space and operate here is used for the most part on airport resources
and things for the airport and not say ok and say “hey, we got fire in the
city, so let’s send them off to go handle something else” (3:00). We have
some federal responsibility and requirements to work within the rules of
the FAA has set up for how airport money is gathered and spent. So, I
think that its a fair role for the airport based on what our line of business
really is suppose to be.
v. Communicate Information
I think our role is in a lot of ways like the sharers of information. People
look to airports to be the voice for everyone which I don’t agree that we
are the voice for everyone. But I think we are good rallying point to bring
everyone together and as a group decide what is best to move the airport
forward and back to why we are here. There is a lot of unknown here, the
FAA has the 300 page document on emergency plans and what they
should contain and rewrote the airport emergency plan about a year ago
waiting for the FAA to comment and send it back.
vi. Preparation
vii. Mutual Aid
viii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
248

iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
iv. Assessment
Say we have a fire station and say we had an earthquake and it collapsed
or something happened and its built and the fire trucks should be able to
withstand flooding or hurricane but things happen. You have a hurricane
you have wind and things happen and it collapses, the fire station, did it
damage your fire equipment. Did it damage the fire hydrates and the fire
protection system? What systems may be damaged that you have to
functioning or you would like to have function or you reopen knowing
that it doesn’t funciont and these are kind of the way you have to deal
with it until you can get certain systems back up and running. Again, a lot
of this is we are coordinator between other people, businesses and other
facilities and other (21:07) government agencies. And a lot of it is
bringing everyone together and helping from an airport perspective,
meaning all the airlines, tenets, airports, FAA, all the people that have
vested interest in the airport, coming up with a group decision.
c. Limited Role
i. Dependent on airport
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication

249

ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
. What are the airlines going to do from their schedule
standpoint? What is the FAA going to do, are they going to start
slowing down airplanes, are they going to shut down certain
airspace. Our job it to help be a partner in that and then share the
information. The airlines and FAA can make better decisions
based on what we’re and we can make better decisions based on
what they’re doing. Honestly, I think sharing of information and
being prepared and meeting emergency responders are some of
the best things we could do. And just have an open dialogue and
try to figure out, what do you have? What don’t you have? And
what do you think you need from us to help? I think we’ve been
doing a good job the last couple of year in trying to close those
gaps. I don’t think those gaps are closed by any means but I think,
unfortunately some of those natural disasters and hurricane
Katrina have brought communities like airports together realizing
that we’re going to have to rely on ourselves in a lot of ways. And
not look for FEMA to show up with all the answers we need, we’re
going to have to fend for ourselves until that part of it gets in
place. I think it’s a very interesting topic you are dealing with. It’s
tough one because I think some right or wrong answers though I
think a lot of is again looking at what airports can do. What they
can’t do and talking with everybody that has an interest in it.
Working through your airport individual problems, some of our
disasters, we have more planning time than others.
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
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v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
A lot of it was just formalizing a little more detail what we have to offer in
the phases of emergency planning; mitigation, preparedness, response,
recovery. A lot of that is documenting that into more detail than what we
use to. Obviously we all know why with all the disasters happening all
over the world; man-made or otherwise. It is becoming more important
to that people are on the same page. I’ll be honest with you, it has
(30:00) been a long time since 9/11 in the aviation world and its
somewhat embarrassing when I talk with federal officials and some of
organization, I won’t name those organizations, on just how unprepared
you are. And I’m just like, your agency would be one of the first in on a
major terrorist issue on an airport or any airport. And it seems like they
have put very little thought in really being prepared. Now that has all
changed because we’ve really reached out to a lot of different entities to
bring everyone to the table and say, “Listen, you’re going to be a key
player in this emergency, what are you going to do?” You just can’t show
up and say show up and say, “Hey, we’re taking over” and think that the
airport is just going to go sit in the corner and wait till you’re done and
we’ll take back over.
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
I like to think in a perfect world, our role would be to get everything open
and running and basically worry about cutting the check and divvying up
the fund issues later and getting done and getting the airport reopen for
business because the airlines can’t really use the work make money
251

because I’m not sure if any of them actually make money but lose less
money if they are flying. Let’s face it, every flight they cancel, every
passenger that can’t get to where they go to be, is costing the airlines
money in some form or fashion. Our job is to get the business that use
the airport back up and running as a businesses.
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
I think, what I said is what our role would be, is to assess the facility itself
from suit to nuts. And figure out what needs to be fixed and repaired to
get the recovery processes started.
iv. Work w/ tenets
I think in general, the airport is like. I get this all the time from an airline
perspective. We have airlines here that lease, one gates, or two gates or
whatever. We have airlines that lease 50-60 gates, US airways is our hub
carrier. Some airports and tenets here have bigger ability to manage and
recovery and handle their own problems than others. So when they’re
emergency plans, US airways is better able to handle their own business
because, they have 1000’s of employees here and probably lease 2/3rds of
the airport. Whereas some of our international carries or smaller
domestic carriers have very little resources here and they would be the
ones looking for more from the airport or other people than the bigger
tenets here because they don’t have enough resources to get the job
done. I think our goal is to take everybody’s wish list and see what we can
do to help. Obviously, prioritizing with everyone on what manageable
and can be done short term, medium term, and long term. And really
keep people informed and try to keep moving forward in the recovery
part of it, assuming we are in the point of recovering now. The airport is
kind of caught between a rock and hard place because there are things
that we can’t do because our funding has to be airport related businesses
because the grants and insurances that we sign from the legal process.
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

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Appendix K – Coded Interview for 2
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Airlines
5. Evacuations
6. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
2. In accordance to fed regulation
253

iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
Airports role is to protect the assets of the airport and try to continue
operations at a safe level until it can restore full transportation services
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
ii. Bring in recovery supplies
iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports
vi. Evacuations
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
viii. Coordinate with governments
254

1. Local
I think the airport has dual roles. Generally the airports are a part
of larger network for emergency response including: cities that
their associated with or regions or various different disaster
agencies. So they participate in that and become part of a larger
community response
2. State
I think the airport has dual roles. Generally the airports are a part
of larger network for emergency response including: cities that
their associated with or regions or various different disaster
agencies. So they participate in that and become part of a larger
community response
3. Federal
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport

255

iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Practice disaster scenarios
v. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
Well I’m not sure they can actually prevent a disaster but it’s
mostly an issue of planning. There proper role is to plan for
natural disasters to try to guess what might happen and prepare
for that based on local conditions. An example that I gave you
before was in Salt Lake we’re in a pretty substantial earthquake
zone (3:06). So a lot of planning efforts and resources need to go
into looking at “what if” scenarios related to large scale
earthquakes and then plan according to respond to that. If during
that planning processes they see that there are some thing that
could be done proactively to minimize the potential damage, they
should take steps to do that
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
256

iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
Well they need to be the lead agency to coordinate everyone’s
efforts to do whatever is reasonable and work on the resources of
the airport to get facilities back to operating conditions.
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
Probably the primary goal there is to coordinate and schedual repairs so
that the most critical facilities are addressed first, the ones with the
mostly time are attended to early on in the processes.
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
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i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
vi. Preparation
vii. Mutual Aid
viii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
258

2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
As the landlord of the airport their primary response would be to lead to
response and coordinate the activities of all the players for their
emergency plan.
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
iv. Assessment
c. Limited Role
i. Dependent on airport
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
259

2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
Getting back to operating, at least on a minimally safe bases and then
restore all services.
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
260

v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

261

Appendix L – Coded Interview for 8
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
and I guess this airport really its first obligation is to maintain itself
so it can serve its community in a wider service. So, any planning
on that level is going to be an overall city plan. But I think I’ve got
everything well enough covered.

a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Airlines
5. Evacuations
6. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
262

ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
But the current emergency plan that we have basically ensures
that all of our tenets are aware; it’s a preparation processes first
and we actually have a separate hurricane plan as well and that
goes into a lot more detail about how each section needs to
prepare. How we notify the tenets and make sure their ramps are
prepared and secured and lot of it has to do with securing loss
debris and that kind of thing.
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
and I guess this airport really its first obligation is to maintain itself so it
can serve its community in a wider service. So, any planning on that level
is going to be an overall city plan. But I think I’ve got everything well
enough covered.
Really, as far as any obligation, we are just really trying maintain our own
airport and that is incase the need does arise to serve the rest of the
community and anything like that. I think that was on target to what you
were looking for.
1. Infrastructure
More than anything, just making sure stuff is put away in the
hangers or storage areas. Try not to leave anything loose or out in
the airfield. Most aircraft if they are not able to be put in a hanger
will relocate and it’s up to the airline when they decide their last
flight is going to be and when they decide to they’re going to clear
out a ramp and seem thing with all of our general aviation. But as
far as physically tying anything down, if there is anything that
requires that whatever lashings or straps that we have if there is
any construction going on, I know they try to secure those in a
certain area and make sure all that is safe and at least stored
somewhere else
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
263

viii. Communication
But the current emergency plan that we have basically ensures that all of
our tenets are aware; it’s a preparation processes first and we actually
have a separate hurricane plan as well and that goes into a lot more
detail about how each section needs to prepare. How we notify the
tenets and make sure their ramps are prepared and secured and lot of it
has to do with securing loss debris and that kind of thing. It depends on
the airline. It’s their aircraft; they make the decision on where they think
they need to go. If they have another city where they fly in and out of.
The same thing with general aviation just whatever arrangements they
make with whatever other airport; we really have no say in that.
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
I think it was actually open to general public but also it did serve as a
place of staging for emergency vehicles. They basically filled up our
garage as a shelter so in case there was some kind of a need for response
they would have all their resources intact.
ii. Bring in recovery supplies
iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports
vi. Evacuations

264

vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
viii. Coordinate with governments
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
Our primary role is getting back to restoring operations. Making sure that
airports can be function as soon as possible.
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
A lot of times, power is going to be out and we are actually pretty high on
the priority list for restoring power, we are right behind the hospital and
emergency responders. Make sure the airfield is clear of any debris and
make sure all the services are safe; runway, taxiway. Make sure they are
clear of any fog or anything like that. Make sure our lighting system is
working. It is really up to the FAA then to insure that our navigating is
functioning. The navigation aids are they responsibilities. Our are
electrical. Make sure electrical is powering everything and that we do
have lighting. And of course making sure all of our services are free of
debris.
v. Shelter
Well, we did serve as a point of distribution site, mainly for city
employees or airport employees because the airport is manned and
maintained 24/7 and so there were people actually stayed here overnight
when the storm blew through. So there were a lot of people that really
couldn’t take care of their businesses. It wasn’t that disastrous but they
did provide a site for a point of distribution for mainly the airport
employees
vi. Planning
265

1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
We do have an evacuation plan with the terminal incase we had
something going on in the terminal we have an evac plan but as far as
doing anything with the communities, no I haven’t done any sort of
exercise like that. I know there was a huge exodus during, I guess it
was hurricane Rite because when Katrina had just hit New Orleans
and when Rite came around it scared everybody and everybody was
just trying to fly out and it was just a packed terminal but really not
anything for any exercise or anything like that.
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Practice disaster scenarios
v. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication

266

But the current emergency plan that we have basically ensures that all of
our tenets are aware; it’s a preparation processes first and we actually
have a separate hurricane plan as well and that goes into a lot more
detail about how each section needs to prepare. How we notify the
tenets and make sure their ramps are prepared and secured and lot of it
has to do with securing loss debris and that kind of thing. It depends on
the airline. It’s their aircraft; they make the decision on where they think
they need to go. If they have another city where they fly in and out of.
The same thing with general aviation just whatever arrangements they
make with whatever other airport; we really have no say in that.
v. Practice disaster scenarios
I don’t know if anybody could, we did just go through our full scale
disaster exercise, were we simulate a plane crash on an airfield. We
incorporate all the regular responders who would normally respond to a
real disaster and try to play out a scenario to actors playing out casualties
and having a full response and even involving some of the hospitals but
as far as preventing. I don’t see anybody be able to do that.
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
Of course it didn’t as bad as it did in Louisiana after Katrina. I
know they used their airport as a sort of a command post were a
lot of supplies were coming in and out. For that situation If it
267

became necessary, this airport would serve that purpose if it had,
it just hasn’t had to at this point.
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
Well, I don’t know. The airport as it is already serves the
community and I could see it doing the same thing it’d just
be in and out for supplies for whatever. I know in their
extreme example, in Louisiana (14:00) they ended up using
one terminal as a morgue but that was pretty extreme
disaster and I think they would have to adapt to whatever
situation presented itself. But it is a city property and city
entity and it would take whatever role it would have to.
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments

268

2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
At least a[n evacuation] plan should be in place it seems like it could be a
realistic situation again because of the. I think people just got scared from
Katrina because it was not the same thing during Ike. We had a fairly
elevated capacity but I think that was kind of a unique situation. As it is, we
are capable of handling most situations that we should reasonable expect, I
don’t know if it would be necessary.
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
vi. Preparation
vii. Mutual Aid
viii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
269

3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
That would be more a detriment than anything else; if our air operations
had to stop, There are a lot of hanger all over the place. It’s possible that
some extreme need arose, maybe able to commadeer a hanger and use it
as a shelter. But that is another thing I think would be on the level of city
level of planning
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
iv. Assessment
c. Limited Role
i. Dependent on airport
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
I think that probably what’s been taking care of. We’ve done a lot in the
last probably 2 years and improving our drainage. We did have an area I
guess it was the northeast corner that would go under water if we had
270

substantially heavy rain and I think even on the south and I know there
has been a lot of work to improve drainage it hasn’t been tested yet in a
while but that are some of the steps that have already been taken is
improving our drainage of our airfield. But other than that, nothing else, I
don’t think there is anything else we can improve on for that purpose.
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
I think that probably what’s been taking care of. We’ve done a lot in the
last probably 2 years and improving our drainage. We did have an area I
guess it was the northeast corner that would go under water if we had
substantially heavy rain and I think even on the south and I know there
has been a lot of work to improve drainage it hasn’t been tested yet in a
while but that are some of the steps that have already been taken is
improving our drainage of our airfield. But other than that, nothing else, I
don’t think there is anything else we can improve on for that purpose.
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
They basically filled up our garage as a shelter so in case there was some
kind of a need for response they would have all their resources intact.
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
271

i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
. It wasn’t that disastrous but they did provide a site for a point of
distribution for mainly the airport employees and then once we got taken
care of, I think it was actually open to general public but also it did serve
as a place of staging for emergency vehicles.
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

272

Appendix M - Coded Interview for 4
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Airlines
5. Evacuations
Ok, then obviously airports would play a role in evacuation;
people would be booking flights left and right and also getting
resources in.
In the Charleston region, the Charleston International airport also
shares its runway with the Charleston air force base and we have
actually used the air force base before, actually just last year
during the Haitian Earthquake we did repatriation missions, we
were flying repatriated Americans from Haiti on US force C-17’s
into the Charleston airport, just as resources were being deployed
to Haiti in relief missions, Americans were allowed board military
aircraft and they were flown back to Charleston.
273

6. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
v. Keep flying until they no longer can
vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
ii. Bring in recovery supplies
274

iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports
vi. Evacuations
They landed here and it wasn’t 10,000 people all at once obviously it was
in several different flights over a span of a couple of weeks. But once they
were here, they were registered, they were taken to a evacuee process
center and it was basically a one-stop-shop. They had representation
from the red cross, the salvation army, social security administration was
here and they could help. We had volunteers helping them find lost loved
ones where they had might have ended up. Working with people to get
some sort of housing; a lot of people were able to get set up in
apartments or hotels. A lot of hotels just donated their empty rooms for
the evacuees. So you had that charitable atmosphere about it, and that
was great. The people who choose to stay worked with the red cross and
the non-profits and some of the faith based organization and were set up
with good apartments, they were set up with jobs, they were able to
build a life after a very devastating hurricane. But a lot of them choose to
go back, so we were able to help them return to their homes in Louisiana
as well.
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
viii. Coordinate with governments
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
ii. Restore facility
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
Obviously, depending on the size of the airport, depending on the runway
capacity, operations can go hand-in-hand and as commercial flights start
to resume, we saw that in Haiti, commercial flights started to resume but
response operations were still ongoing.
275

v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
The biggest thing that an airport could do would be to simply pass
our message along about the impending disaster or approaching
storm. Let passengers know about flight delays, help them, assist
them in getting alternate flights, or alternate means of
transportation out of a evacuation zone should they have
passenger or airline customers who are still at the airport when
the governor issues a mandatory evacuation. So public education,
public awareness, simply paying attention to what is going on
would be absolutely crucial.
ii. To operate as an airport
iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
Well, we are running into that situation right now. The disaster we
are seeing in the gulf coast and varies state throughout FEMA
region 4, the southern region of FEMA has been taxed and they’ve
had to pull on different FEMA regions throughout the region. It
would be a similar situation, we would go to North Carolina, we
would go to Georgia we would go to the federal government and
we would continue to put the call back as far back it would go
across the nation until someone said yes we are available and we
want to help. If we had to get international support, we have a
system set up for that as well. It’s called the emergency
management assistance compact. It’s an agreement for all the
governors in all 50 states as far as states being able to request
resources from other states.
276

3. Work with federal agencies
The National Guard, our national guard uses several of the
airports (11:55) for touch and go’s and practice and in fact they
are doing some today. Just to see how quickly they can get in,
land and drop off resources and take off again and to start that
process all over again.
iv. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
The National Guard, our national guard uses several of the airports
(11:55) for touch and go’s and practice and in fact they are doing some
today. Just to see how quickly they can get in, land and drop off
resources and take off again and to start that process all over again.
I’m not sure what more of an additional role considering we exercise,
practice and rehearse with each of our major airports that we have. We
do a weapons of mass destruction exercises, we do major disaster
exercises, we have several memoradems of understanding with each of
our airports for a variety of things. So, I can envision should we get a
disaster in my state anyway, the companies, the people involved would
step above and beyond anyway.
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
ii. Dependent on function

277

iii. Dependent on infrastructure
Obviously, depending on the size of the airport, depending on the runway
capacity, operations can go hand-in-hand and as commercial flights start
to resume, we saw that in Haiti, commercial flights started to resume but
response operations were still ongoing.
iv. Dependent on airport
Obviously, depending on the size of the airport, depending on the runway
capacity, operations can go hand-in-hand and as commercial flights start
to resume, we saw that in Haiti, commercial flights started to resume but
response operations were still ongoing.
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
That’s a huge factor. One of the hallmarks of recovery operations is
getting the community back to some sense of normalcy, so you want to
look at how quickly it will take to get the schools back, how quickly will it
take to get the people back, get the grocery store operational so people
can get the supplies they need so they’re not dependent on government
points of distribution, things like that. An airport would go right in line
with that.
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
278

Number one, hands down would be the interstate. Car, it’s the fastest
way, it’s the easiest way to get an evacuated population back to their
homes. So everybody would be focused on the viability of the roads. Can
we get to an affected area? It can also enable our first responders to
(7:32) to get to people who may have been in a disaster scene and may
not have been able to evacuate and they could have no other means to
get out. We have a lot of barrier islands along our coastline. So each one
of those are connected via bridge or some other means, so we would
have to look at just the passage ways of getting vehicles to and affected
area. Would we be using air support? Absolutely. Primiary through
military means; commercial jets, commercial airlines they are certainly
have made themselves available to states and to government when
needs be but it has typically, as far as moving large portions of the
population. In the aftermath, obviously the first question that anybody
would have is, when can I go home. And the roadways would be the best
viable means to do so because if we can clear a road in teh aftermath of
the storm almost immediately, then that road will typically stay clear, we
hope it does anyway.
iii. Communicating
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
Obviously, depending on the size of the airport, depending on the runway
capacity, operations can go hand-in-hand and as commercial flights start
to resume, we saw that in Haiti, commercial flights started to resume but
response operations were still ongoing.
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
279

2. State governments
That’s a very interesting question. That would depend on the type
of disaster and it would it depend on the category of the
hurricane. If we get a category 1, there is not going to be much of
a response involve because we might have some minor storm
surge and some flooding. But that would be about it. A category 5
would be all hands on deck and international response or should I
say a national response from FEMA from multiple states, it would
run the gambit, we would need an evacuee processing center, we
would need resources, places designated to receive resources and
we have some pre-identified.
3. Federal governments
That’s a very interesting question. That would depend on the type
of disaster and it would it depend on the category of the
hurricane. If we get a category 1, there is not going to be much of
a response involve because we might have some minor storm
surge and some flooding. But that would be about it. A category 5
would be all hands on deck and international response or should I
say a national response from FEMA from multiple states, it would
run the gambit, we would need an evacuee processing center, we
would need resources, places designated to receive resources and
we have some pre-identified.
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
That’s a very interesting question. That would depend on the type of
disaster and it would it depend on the category of the hurricane. If we
get a category 1, there is not going to be much of a response involve
because we might have some minor storm surge and some flooding. But
that would be about it. A category 5 would be all hands on deck and
international response or should I say a national response from FEMA
from multiple states, it would run the gambit, we would need an evacuee
processing center, we would need resources, places designated to
receive resources and we have some pre-identified.
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
1. Work with local government but act independently
280

2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
vi. Preparation
vii. Mutual Aid
viii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
c. Limited Role
i. Dependent on airport
281

So, that question would be very dependent on what area we would be
talking about in our state and what the local community saw as
benefiting as having an airport there. We have Shaw Air force base in
Sumter, South Carolina. The air force has a very large role in that
community of that particular county. I can forsee F-16’s and air force
support being used if we should get a disaster in that area. We have little
airplane communities in some areas where we have enthusiast pilots
who live right there on the runway. Similar to living on the golf course
only these are all airplane enthusiasts. So, it would run the gambit. We
don’t have very large airports like, Dallas or O’Hare or even Miami but we
do have a couple of International airports and a lot to industry that
surrounds those. So, one of the indicators to getting a community back to
normal would be our commercial flights resuming.
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
There could always be more public education and there could
always be more agreements.
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
We are always looking to add partners to our network I guess you could
say. Just to hope to strengthen and build those relationships right now
would be where I would say we need to go.
1. Local
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
282

b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
ii. Respond to other airports in need
iii. Assessment
it would run the gambit in what we would need. It would be very very
disaster specific as far as the types of resources we would be requesting.
And remember, we may get spontaneous volunteers but in order for it to
work in the system, we have to ask for resources in order to get them.
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll
283

Appendix N – Coded Interview for 12
1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Coordination
1. local government
a. establish communication
When everything hits the fan sort of speak, the entire city
through the mayor and through the departments come
together in a unified effort and the airports have their
protocols that they have to report. If the EOC’s activated
we have the liaisons from the airport system or either all
three airport in our EOC’s to make sure that they know
what is going on, if its’ a hurricane event, they know
what’s going on in the hurricane event and we know
what’s going on from their timeline. As it becomes more
compressed and they have to start squeezing down to
start bringing operations down to a halt if needed.
Each airport has their own response, they have their own
command director and they all have their response teams
and they all know what they have to do and they organize
as a entity within themselves from a command
management and they feed everything up to the airport
system and then it is ultimately to the liaison or directly
from the director is feed to the office of emergency
management
b. Use local resources
c. act independently
2. State government
a. establish communication
b. Use state resources
c. act independently
3. Federal government
a. establish communication
284

b. Use federal resources
c. act independently
d. Limited Role
4. Airlines
So, depending on the scenario, and how many people whether its
voluntary or mandatory evacuation all of that data and
intelligence starts to be shared between the coordinated effort of
the departments and airport being one, fire, police, public works
and all of these departments. So, the airport in turn tells us,
communicates back to the city about what happening up stream
and when I say upstream that means that everything that
happens in Michigan can impact us. Things that are happening in
Florida can impact us. Things that are happening in, Mississippi
floods can impact us. So, what they start looking at and
communicating back to us is flight data, flight information. In
other words, when will they start cutting back flights and what
will be the trigger that they start cutting back flights back and a lot
of that, we know what is going on here but again because the
airline industry is so interconnected and it’s a domino effect
(13:20). So what is happening here is impacting international
flights. What’s happening north of us in Dallas, middle of day, bad
weather is impacting us to be able to get flights out of Houston.
So, that has to be a big coordinated effort through the airport
systems and the City of Houston. So, they start telling us and
giving us information on what the flight information is on what
the airport situation is. Sometimes, one will close before the other
one because the big is north of Houston and the other is south of
Houston. So, they may have a little different shut down timeline
and then that information now has to be interpreted and
deducted and what we have to communicate to the community.
The public information the social media, if you got flights going to
LA, are you going to be able to make that flight. So, we try to start
getting that information pushed out as much as we can through
the media sources. An airline contacts that way people can start
adjusting to accommodate to because, they may not be able to fly
out during an approaching hurricane. You know that this for a
pleasure trip somewhere. So, start coordinating all of that and
again, we have liaisons in our EOC that are consistently feeding us
updated information, the status, where they are at in their
timeline for closing operation or limiting operation or ceasing
operation totally, all together. (15:16). So, it’s a very coordinated
285

effort. Its, I think, I can’t remember all the people involved that’s
part of the airport system but you have, your, let me brainstorm
here. You have the Houston police department, Houston fire
department, these are all support agencies that work with the
airport system.
5. Evacuations
Well, when we have an evacuation, we will have a recommended
evacuation. How they recommend it or when it comes down to it,
we would have a mandatory evacuation. When that happens
automatically our emergency operations center for Houston is
stood up and probably already stood up way before that decision
ever comes. But through a coordinated effort, if there is a
recommended evacuation the OC is activated then we have a
unified, more or less unified command structure that we start
coordinating with the airports and start looking at timelines they
have their protocol that automatically, the city has different
levels, level 4 is our routine daily operation. We are always
marking that. As we get down to a category 2, we learned in Ike,
in category 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 then we activate the EOC, then each
department, the office of emergency management notifies each
of these department even though they know what is going on. We
still notify departments, airports being one, where we are at in
this timeline as far as H-120 or H-whatever it is from a hurricane
landfall or threat. So they start implementing their protocol and
then they report (10:01) back into the emergency management
coordinator here in the OEM. And through all this dialogue, we
are looking at depopulation that is either been you know, not
voluntarily but required. In other words, they live on the coast, we
have about a million and a half population that lives south of
Houston that lives on the coast, pretty much on the coast.
6. Bring in Supplies
ii. Shelter
b. The airport to act independently
i. To act as a first responder
ii. Deal with the hazard
1. In a systematic approach
Well, when we have an evacuation, we will have a recommended
evacuation. How they recommend it or when it comes down to it,
286

we would have a mandatory evacuation. When that happens
automatically our emergency operations center for Houston is
stood up and probably already stood up way before that decision
ever comes. But through a coordinated effort, if there is a
recommended evacuation the OC is activated then we have a
unified, more or less unified command structure that we start
coordinating with the airports and start looking at timelines they
have their protocol that automatically, the city has different
levels, level 4 is our routine daily operation. We are always
marking that. As we get down to a category 2, we learned in Ike,
in category 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 then we activate the EOC, then each
department, the office of emergency management notifies each
of these department even though they know what is going on. We
still notify departments, airports being one, where we are at in
this timeline as far as H-120 or H-whatever it is from a hurricane
landfall or threat. So they start implementing their protocol and
then they report (10:01) back into the emergency management
coordinator here in the OEM. And through all this dialogue, we
are looking at depopulation that is either been you know, not
voluntarily but required. In other words, they live on the coast, we
have about a million and a half population that lives south of
Houston that lives on the coast, pretty much on the coast.
2. In accordance to fed regulation
iii. Protect the airport
1. Infrastructure
iv. Evacuations
So, if we are having an approaching storm they will operate up until the
last minute until they can to get people out or to get organization out of
here, when I say critical organizations like people that will be needed for
infrastructure for after, post an event.

v. Keep flying until they no longer can
So, get them out and fly until they can no longer, until they shut down
according to rules.

vi. Evacuations
287

vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
c. An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable, hence limited role
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice
2. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. The airport to act dependently
i. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
ii. Bring in recovery supplies
iii. Become operational quickly after the storm
iv. As a lifeline for a community but with normal operations problem due to
recovery efforts
v. Mutual Aid between airports
vi. Evacuations
But, we received aircraft, I can’t really tell you where we all received
aircraft from New Orleans and who all flew in from New Orleans with the
people that had evacuated New Orleans either their hospital or health
care system and nursing home systems and you name it, they were
coming in by helicopter. They were coming in from every kind of air
source they could find?

We put them in our hospitals if we could find beds for them. Some of
those that were not really that bad, they were put in hotels and other
facilities but there were about 200,000 at the peak that we absorbed
from New Orleans.

288

The ones that came by aircraft were more hospital, more medical
patients that they were trying to find facilities for.
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
viii. Coordinate with governments
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
x. Shelter
b. Act in an independent role
i. Assess airport
We are doing a needs assessment of the community, the city and then at
that time we are starting to get a good idea of the impact of the city,
from an infrastructure standpoint; our water and our fire, our healthcare,
our fire protection and the resources we are going to need in a recovery
standpoint.
ii. Restore facility
We are doing a needs assessment of the community, the city and then at
that time we are starting to get a good idea of the impact of the city,
from an infrastructure standpoint; our water and our fire, our healthcare,
our fire protection and the resources we are going to need in a recovery
standpoint.
iii. Mutual Aid
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
v. Shelter
vi. Planning
1. Adaptive Use
3. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
a. Act Dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles
1. Evacuation
2. Communication towards passengers
ii. To operate as an airport
289

iii. Work with government agencies
1. Work with local agencies
2. Work with state agencies
3. Work with federal agencies
iv. Shelter
b. Act Independently
i. To operate as an airport
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster to become operational
Well, again it depends on the hazard. But like I said all of our
airports have a dedicated what I call ARF, Aircraft fire fighting
stations. And they all have their own response teams and
operations team, administration level teams, they have a very
strong administration direction from a director that actually came
from the Atlanta airport system and also worked in the
Philadelphia airport system and he is very adamant about each
airport facility almost acting independent for his responding rapid
identifying, whether it be a hazardous situation or either a
terrorist situation or threat or a suspect; is to have enough
responders and trained and operated to mitigate it immediately.
They’ve also been trained to recognize where its beyond their
control and they have to immediately start bringing in support.
The fire captain and district chiefs are very good about whatever
it takes to mitigate that. But, they train often and how to deal
with their passengers.
2. Minimize financial damage
iii. Use emergency services
iv. Communication
v. Practice disaster scenarios
vi. Shelter
c. There is an unknown/limited role
i. Dependent on ownership
290

ii. Dependent on function
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
iv. Dependent on airport
v. Shelter
4. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. As a lifeline for a community
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
3. To bring in supplies
So, back to your question on the airports; they’re critical, they’re a
significant part of our infrastructure to keep accesses and also in
recovery, rebuilding mode to bring supplies, people, experts and
people back to the community to get the businesses going again.
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Get disaster assessed
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
They may know what is going on in the airport but they may not have a
clue on what is going on in accessing that airport. For bridge, road,
debris, etc. So, once they get a good idea that they can start receiving
flights back, if on a priority bases or a limited bases, that information is
communicated back on what is called an initial damage assessment on
the city and a status situation and report.
iii. Communicating
So, once we understand what we have, and then we understand what is
coming in from the other departments, fire departments, and public
291

works. From their assessment and also just the impact of the city, from
their hurricane because we all have a fantastic relationship with our local
weather service here which is right down the street from us, nice.
iv. personnel stuff
v. Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
I mean the airports role in recovering, is getting the airport system back
up and running.
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
And they are part of our recovery plan and everything is based on priority
and just because it’s a high priority doesn’t means it’s a priority which
means that if you don’t have the infrastructure to support that priority
than, don’t bring them back here. So, the airports and the recovery piece
are critical because we try to get them back up, assessed and evaluated
and again its not our call because the FAA has a big role in what theses
airports do and how they shut down and how they open back up.
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
viii. Shelter
c. Limited Role
i. Infrastructure Problems
5. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
a. Act dependently
i. Communicate Information
1. Local governments
2. State governments
3. Federal governments
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
iii. Evacuations
iv. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
292

1. Work with local government but act independently
2. To be informed about the approaching hazard
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
1. Concerns
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
v. Communicate Information
vi. Preparation
So, I think that all hazards, the basic things I’m talking about now needs
to be emergency response teams that are trained, prepared, and not one
dimensional, they need to be multi-dimensional for all hazards.
vii. Mutual Aid
viii. Shelter
6. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
1. Dependent on type of airport
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
3. Operational Ultimatum
And then there is a COOP, continuity of operations and looking at
that and prioritizing the central functions for that department or
facility, if it was an airport, it would be an airport facility. And then
feeding that information back immediately to decide if it can be
repaired, how quick we can get that facility back in service.
ii. Acting as a staging area
iii. For incoming delivery
iv. Evacuation
v. Take lead role in recovery
vi. Shelter
293

b. Act independently
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally operational
ii. Shelter
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
c. Limited Role
7. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
1. Deliver goods and services
2. Act as a staging ground
3. Evacuations
4. Communication
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
1. Local
These airport knowing their role, having a good instant
management structure, good response team and really cannot be
in isolation. It has to be coordinated through liaison and through
whatever format. It has to be tied in with City’s office of
emergency management or emergency some cities may not have
a, severed office but it needs to be really coordinated with all
departments and rolled up with the office of emergency
management for the city.
2. State
3. Federal
iv. Update Emergency plan
v. Shelter
b. Act independently
i. Protect critical infrastructures
294

I think our Bush airport has three fire stations, those guys can’t even
leave to go to a house fire in a neighboring community because the
airport would have to shut down if they were not there. So, those are
things that you’ve got to have back, I’m probably missing some key ones
here but you’ve got to have highways, transportation and then you’ve got
to have power and water then you’ve got to have you know some level of
communication between all of your responders and your coordinated
effort with the departments including airports and then you’ve got to
have some way to protect the responders and people coming back in and
people that didn’t leave you’ve got to provide fire protection and EMS
and medical and healthcare and all that stuff. And that is not considering
all the elderly people and the children stuff you have to deal with.
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
iii. Work with other forms of government
iv. Utilizing available resources
So, I think that all hazards, the basic things I’m talking about now needs
to be emergency response teams that are trained, prepared, and not one
dimensional, they need to be multi-dimensional for all hazards.
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
vi. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
These airport knowing their role, having a good instant management
structure, good response team and really cannot be in isolation. It has to
be coordinated through liaison and through whatever format. It has to be
tied in with City’s office of emergency management or emergency some
cities may not have a, severed office but it needs to be really coordinated
with all departments and rolled up with the office of emergency
management for the city.
vii. Shelter
8. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
a. Act dependently
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
ii. Deliver goods and services
And then you’ve got to get your ports or your airports or your rail;
transportation, you’ve got to get them up and running to where they can
actually start moving mass supplies and resources and whatever format
295

that is, in and out because we’ve learned, nothing new here that those
that have been impacted, they can’t do it by themselves because they are
more than likely.
iii. Act as a staging ground
iv. Shelter
v. Communication
b. Act independently
i. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster (to reach operational
capabilities ASAP)
ii. Respond to other airports in need
All of that is a domino effect, you know your airports, the positive thing
about your airports is that a lot of these people can be brought in from
other airport to assist or pilots or flight attendants can be brought in
from other parts of the country to help.
iii. Assessment
iv. Work w/ tenets
v. Shelter
c. To act as
d. Limited/unknown roll

296

Appendix O – Coded Data Input

Person
Occupation
Location
1
1a
1ai
1ai1
1ai1a
1ai1b
1ai1c
1ai2
1ai2a
1ai2b
1ai2c
1ai3
1ai3a
1ai3b
1ai3c
1ai3d
1ai4
1aii
1aiii
1aiv
1b
1bi
1bii
1bii1
1bii2
1biii
1biv

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27

1bv
1bvi
1bvii
1bviii
1c
1ci
1cii

28
29
30
31
32
33
34

1
2
3
4
Consultant Consult
Consultant Airport
Lansing
Michigan
Montona -Scholes
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1

1
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
297

5
Airport

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
1

6
Airport
Baton
Rouge
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0

0
0
1
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
1
1
1

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

--

1ciii
1civ
1cv
1cvi

35
36
37
38
2 39
2a
40
2ai
41
2aii
42
2aiii
43
2aiv
44
2av
45
2avi
46
2avii
47
2aviii
48
2aviii1
49
2aviii2
50
2aviii3
51
2aix
52
2ax
53
2b
54
2bi
55
2bii
56
2biii
57
2biv
58
2bv
59
2bvi
60
2bvi1
61
3 62
3a
63
3ai
64
3ai1
65
3ai2
66
3aii
67
3aiii
68
3aiii1
69
3aiii2
70
3aiii3
71
3aiv
72
3av
73
3b
74
3bi
75

1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0

0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
298

0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0

0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0

0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0

3bii
3bii1
3bii2
3biii
3biv
3bv
3bvi
3c
3ci
3cii
3ciii
3civ
3cv

76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
4 89
4a
90
4ai
91
4ai1
92
4ai2
93
4ai3
94
4ai3a
95
4aii
96
4aiii
97
4aiv
98
4b
99
4bi
##
4bii
##
4biii
##
4biv
##
4bv
##
4bvi
##
4bvii
##
4bviii
##
4c
##
4ci
##
5 ##
5a
##
5ai
##
5ai1
##
5ai2
##
5ai3
##
5aii
##

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0

1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
299

1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1

1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0

5aiii
5aiv
5b
5bi
5bi1
5bi2
5bii
5biii
5biii1
5biv
5bv
5bvi
5bvii
5bviii
6a
6ai
6ai1
6ai2
6ai3
6aii
6aiii
6aiv
6av
6avi
6b
6bi
6bii
6biii
6biv
6c
6ci
7a
7ai
7ai1
7ai2
7ai3
7ai4
7aii
7aiii

##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
6 ##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
7 ##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##
##

0
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
300

0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1

7aiii1
7aiii2
7aiii3
7aiv
7av
7b
7bi
7bii
7biii
7biv
7bv
7bvi
7bvii
8a
8ai
8aii
8aiii
8aiv
8av
8b
8bi
8bii
8biii
8biv
8bv
8c
8d

##
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##
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##
8 ##
##
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##
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##
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##
##
##
##

0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1

Person
Occupation
Location
1
1a
1ai
1ai1
1ai1a
1ai1b

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

7
Airport
Research
(Tri) NC
1
2
3
4
5
6

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

8
Airport
Texas
1
1
1
0
0
0

9
10
Government Airport
Florida
1
1
1
1
0
0

1
0
0
0
0
0
301

0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0

11
Govn.

Pennslyavania Chicago
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0

1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

1ai1c
1ai2
1ai2a
1ai2b
1ai2c
1ai3
1ai3a
1ai3b
1ai3c
1ai3d
1ai4
1aii
1aiii
1aiv
1b
1bi
1bii
1bii1
1bii2
1biii
1biv
1bv
1bvi
1bvii
1bviii
1c
1ci
1cii
1ciii
1civ
1cv
1cvi
2
2a
2ai
2aii
2aiii
2aiv
2av
2avi
2avii

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
302

0
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0

0
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

2aviii
2aviii1
2aviii2
2aviii3
2aix
2ax
2b
2bi
2bii
2biii
2biv
2bv
2bvi
2bvi1
3
3a
3ai
3ai1
3ai2
3aii
3aiii
3aiii1
3aiii2
3aiii3
3aiv
3av
3b
3bi
3bii
3bii1
3bii2
3biii
3biv
3bv
3bvi
3c
3ci
3cii
3ciii
3civ
3cv

48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
303

1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0

4
4a
4ai
4ai1
4ai2
4ai3
4ai3a
4aii
4aiii
4aiv
4b
4bi
4bii
4biii
4biv
4bv
4bvi
4bvii
4bviii
4c
4ci
5
5a
5ai
5ai1
5ai2
5ai3
5aii
5aiii
5aiv
5b
5bi
5bi1
5bi2
5bii
5biii
5biii1
5biv
5bv
5bvi
5bvii

89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129

1
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1

1
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
304

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

5bviii
6
6a
6ai
6ai1
6ai2
6ai3
6aii
6aiii
6aiv
6av
6avi
6b
6bi
6bii
6biii
6biv
6c
6ci
7
7a
7ai
7ai1
7ai2
7ai3
7ai4
7aii
7aiii
7aiii1
7aiii2
7aiii3
7aiv
7av
7b
7bi
7bii
7biii
7biv
7bv
7bvi
7bvii

130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0

0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0

0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
305

0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0

0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

8
8a
8ai
8aii
8aiii
8aiv
8av
8b
8bi
8bii
8biii
8biv
8bv
8c
8d

171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

Person
Occupation

12
Government

Location
1
1a
1ai
1ai1
1ai1a
1ai1b
1ai1c
1ai2
1ai2a
1ai2b
1ai2c
1ai3
1ai3a
1ai3b
1ai3c
1ai3d

1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Houston
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

13
Government
South
Carolina
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
306

1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
0
0
0

1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0

1ai4
1aii
1aiii
1aiv
1b
1bi
1bii
1bii1
1bii2
1biii
1biv
1bv
1bvi
1bvii
1bviii
1c
1ci
1cii
1ciii
1civ
1cv
1cvi
2
2a
2ai
2aii
2aiii
2aiv
2av
2avi
2avii
2aviii
2aviii1
2aviii2
2aviii3
2aix
2ax
2b
2bi
2bii
2biii

17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57

1
1
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0

0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
307

2biv
2bv
2bvi
2bvi1
3
3a
3ai
3ai1
3ai2
3aii
3aiii
3aiii1
3aiii2
3aiii3
3aiv
3av
3b
3bi
3bii
3bii1
3bii2
3biii
3biv
3bv
3bvi
3c
3ci
3cii
3ciii
3civ
3cv
4
4a
4ai
4ai1
4ai2
4ai3
4ai3a
4aii
4aiii
4aiv

58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98

0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0

1
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
308

4b
4bi
4bii
4biii
4biv
4bv
4bvi
4bvii
4bviii
4c
4ci
5
5a
5ai
5ai1
5ai2
5ai3
5aii
5aiii
5aiv
5b
5bi
5bi1
5bi2
5bii
5biii
5biii1
5biv
5bv
5bvi
5bvii
5bviii
6
6a
6ai
6ai1
6ai2
6ai3
6aii
6aiii
6aiv

99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139

1
0
1
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
0

1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
309

6av
6avi
6b
6bi
6bii
6biii
6biv
6c
6ci
7
7a
7ai
7ai1
7ai2
7ai3
7ai4
7aii
7aiii
7aiii1
7aiii2
7aiii3
7aiv
7av
7b
7bi
7bii
7biii
7biv
7bv
7bvi
7bvii
8
8a
8ai
8aii
8aiii
8aiv
8av
8b
8bi
8bii

140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
1

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
310

8biii
8biv
8bv
8c
8d

181
182
183
184
185

0
0
0
0
0

1
0
0
0
0

311

Appendix P – Code Information
Count data centers on the number of responses for a particular code. Each time an interviewee
answers a particular code, that code receives a “1”. If the interviewee answers 1 or more subcodes, the parent code receives only a “1”. For example, if we were concerned about which
food is healthy and a respondent said apple, then apple is the sub-code and fruit would be the
parent code, thereby both receiving a “1” for their code. If the respondent said apples and
oranges, the parent code would only receive a “1” Additionally, a code value maybe assigned to
the question. Since the respondent answered the question, healthy food may receive a 1 for its
code. Similarly, someone may respond by simply stating that fruit is a healthy option thereby
only fruit would receive a 1 for its code and a 0 would be assigned for apples’ and oranges’
code.
Count data was calculated for the entire dataset, based on the total number of responses for a
particular code, as shown in Figure 4.1. The total response from each code ranges from 0 to 12,
meaning that some codes did not achieve enough information to be coded. Some codes
experienced 12 responses, suggesting that nearly all of the interviewees discussed that code.
Additionally, Figure 4.1, displays rudimentary data centering on common codes, or themes,
throughout the interview process. It is apparent that the data, as shown in Figure 4.1, contains
a wide range of results. The decomposition of the dataset by questions provided a more
detailed information.

312

Figure A.1 – Total Response for each Code

Total Response for each Code
14
12

Count

10
8
Total

6

Average

4
2

1
8
15
22
29
36
43
50
57
64
71
78
85
92
99
106
113
120
127
134
141
148
155
162
169
176
183

0
Code

The previously mentioned analysis technique can be conducted for each question of the
interview process. Figure 4.2, displays the coded results of the first question; that is; what is the
airport’s role in response to a natural hazard? Table 4.1 provides a key to Figure 4.2. According
to Figure 4.2, codes 2 and 20 represent the two main ideological views of the airport; in
partnership with a community and in isolation, respectively. Within each code, lie sub-codes. In
this case, the sub-codes for code 2 includes codes 3-19; likewise in 19-38 in code 20. Code 1
represents how many interviewees successfully responded to that question. Within code 20,
lies code 21, which is the most prevalent response within code 20, with 6 responses. This
suggests that 6 interviewees believe the airport should respond to a hazard in a by dealing with
it in a systematic approach their own emergency plan.
However, 7 responses were recorded for the airport to actively engage the community.
This suggests that many of the interviewees agree that the airport’s role is to be active in
313

community engagement for preparation for in incoming disaster. Additionally, these
preparation activities are most notably coordinating with local officials and bringing in supplies
before the hazard arrives. On the other hand, 9 coded responses were calculated for the airport
acting independently, outside of participation with the community. The strongest airport
activity within that set belongs to code number 23 at 6 responses. Code number 23 represents
that the airport needs to respond to the hazard either systematically through their emergency
management plan. A similar approach was conducted to determine question number two.

314

Table A.1 – Question 1 Key
Code
Detailed Code
1 1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
2
a. The airport to act dependently
3
i. Coordination
4
1.
local government
5
a. Establish communication
6
b. Use local resources
7
c.
act independently
8
2. State government
9
a. establish communication
10
b. Use state resources
11
c.
act independently
12
3. Federal government
13
a. establish communication
14
b. Use federal resources
15
c.
act independently
16
d. Limited Role
17
4. Airlines
18
ii. Evacuations
19
iii. Bring in Supplies
20
iv. Shelter
21
b. The airport to act independently
22
i. To act as a first responder
23
ii. Deal with the hazard
24
1. In a systematic approach
25
2. In accordance to fed regulation
26
iii. Protect the airport
27
iv. Evacuations
28
v. Keep flying
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38

c.

vi. Evacuations
vii. Shelter
viii. Communication
An unknown/limited role
i. Can’t get proper personnel their
ii. Infrastructure is vulnerable
iii. Equipment issues
iv. Poor geographical location
v. Shelter
vi. Practice

315

Response
13
7
7
5
3
0
1
2
2
0
0
3
1
0
1
2
2
4
2
0
9
2
6
5
0
2
2
3
0
1
2
3
2
3
1
2
0
1

Figure A.2 – Total Responses for Question 1

Total Responses for Question 1
14

Total Responses

12
10
8
6

Responses

4
2
0
1

3

5

7

9

11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37
Code

4.4.2 Question 2
Question two of the interviews asked, “What is the role of the airport role in response
to a natural disaster?” Table 4.2 represents the key to Figure 4.3. According to Figure 4.3, codes
2 and 16 represent the two main ideological views of the airport; in partnership with a
community and in isolation, respectively. Within each code, lie sub-codes. In this case, the subcodes for code 2 includes codes 3-15; likewise in 17-23 in code 16. Code 1 represents how many
interviewees successfully responded to that question. Figure 4.3, displays a majority of
responses in code 2, with a response of 12. According to Figure 4.3, it is apparent that most
interviewees believed that the role of the airport during a response to a disaster is to act as a
vessel for incoming recovery supplies as indicated by 7 responses to code 3. Additionally, many
interviewees recorded responses for the airport to participate in evacuations for the
surrounding community, as indicated in code 8.

316

Table A.2 – Question 2 Key
Code
Detailed Code
1 1. What is the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster?
2
a. The airport to act dependently
3
i. Act as a staging area for recovery
4
ii. Bring in recovery supplies
5
iii. Become operational
6
iv. As a lifeline for a community
7
v. Mutual Aid between airports
8
vi. Evacuations
9
vii. Dependent on airport infrastructure
10
viii. Coordinate with governments
11
1. Local
12
2. State
13
3. Federal
14
ix. Respond to any disaster needs
15
1. Shelter
16
b. Act in an independent role
17
i. Assess airport
18
ii. Restore facility
19
iii. Mutual Aid
20
iv. Dependent on airport infrastructure
21
v. Shelter
22
vi. Planning
23
1. Adaptive Use

317

Response
13
12
7
3
1
0
1
5
1
2
2
1
0
0
0
6
2
4
2
3
1
1
1

Figure A.3 – Total Responses for Question 2

Total Responses for Question 2
14

Total Responses

12
10
8
6

Responses

4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Code

4.4.3 Question 3
Question 3, revolves around, “What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?”
Table 4.3 represents the key to Figure 4.4. According to Figure 4.4, codes 2 and 13 represent
the two main ideological views of the airport; in partnership with a community and in isolation,
respectively. Within each code, lie sub-codes. In this case, the sub-codes for code 2 includes
codes 3-12; likewise in 14-27 in code 13. Code 1 represents how many interviewees successfully
responded to that question. Figure 4.4, displays a majority of responses in code 13, with a
response of 11. The most prominent code within a sub-group belongs to the code 15 and 16,
both of which recorded a score of 9. This suggests that 9 interviewees agree that the airport
should act independently when attempting to prevent a hazard from transforming into a
disaster. Code 15 and 16 represent the airport acting to operate as an airport, meaning to
return to normal operations after a hazard, and to protect its infrastructure from being
318

damaged by the disaster, respectively. In the act of the airport preserving itself, the most
common code for the airport’s role in preventing a disaster, as acting in a partnership with the
community, by providing roles to the community in the form of evacuations and
communicating potential airport closings or delays with airline passengers.
Table A.3 – Question 3 Key
Code
Detailed Code
1 1. What is the airport’s role in prevention of a disaster?
2
a. Act Dependently
3
i. Provide supplementary roles
4
1. Evacuation
5
2. Communication towards passengers
6
ii. To operate as an airport
7
iii. Work with government agencies
8
1. Work with local agencies
9
2. Work with state agencies
10
3. Work with federal agencies
11
iv. Practice disaster scenarios
12
v. Shelter
13
b. Act Independently
14
i. To operate as an airport
15
ii. Protect itself and infrastructure
16
1. Quick “bounce-back” from disaster
to become operational
17
2. Minimize financial damage
18
iii. Use emergency services
19
iv. Communication
20
v. Practice disaster scenarios
21
vi. Shelter
22
c.
There is an unknown/limited role
23
i. Dependent on ownership
24
ii. Dependent on function
25
iii. Dependent on infrastructure
26
iv. Dependent on airport
27
v. Shelter

319

Response
13
6
5
4
1
0
3
2
2
2
1
0
11
1
9
9
0
1
3
2
0
4
1
1
2
3
0

Figure A.4 – Total Responses for Question 3

Total Responses for Question 3
14

Total Responses

12
10
8
6

Responses

4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
Code

4.4.4 Question 4
Question 4 is relates to, “What is the airport’s role in recovery from a disaster?” Table
4.4 represents the key to Figure 4.5. According to Figure 4.5, codes 2 and 11 represent the two
main ideological views of the airport; in partnership with a community and in isolation,
respectively. Within each code, lie sub-codes. In this case, the sub-codes for code 2 includes
codes 3-10; likewise in 12-21 in code 11. Code 1 represents how many interviewees successfully
responded to that question. Figure 4.5, displays a majority of responses in code 2, with a
response of 9. This suggests that 9 interviewees believe that the airport has a role in helping
the surrounding community before, during or after a disaster. In Figure 4.5, the code 3 and 6
provided the strongest amount of responses. Code 3 suggests that the airport should provide
lifelines to the community. Of the code 3, 7 responses believe that the airport’s lifeline to the
community is by bringing in recovery supplies. However, 5 interviewees believe that that the

320

incoming recovery supplies are dependent on the infrastructure of the airport. Similarly, 4
responses were recorded for code 5, suggesting that 4 interviewees believe the airport can act
as a staging area for recovery supplies.
Table A.4 – Question 4 Key
Code
Detailed Code
1 1. What is the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
2
a. Act dependently
3
i. As a lifeline for a community
4
1. To met FAA guidelines following the disaster
5
2. Act as a staging area for recovery efforts
6
3. To bring in supplies
7
a. Dependent on airport infrastructure
8
ii. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
9
iii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
10
iv. Shelter
11
b. Act independently
12
i. Get disaster assessed
13
ii. Dependent on outside infrastructure
14
iii. Communicating
15
iv. personnel stuff
16
v.
Getting the airport operational as quickly as possible
17
vi. Dependent on the airport’s infrastructure system
18
vii. Act as a morale booster for citizens
19
viii. Shelter
20
c.
Limited Role
21
i. Infrastructure Problems

321

Response
13
9
8
1
4
7
5
2
3
0
7
2
3
2
1
3
4
0
2
1
1

Figure A.5 – Total Responses for Question 4

Total Responses for Question 4
14

Total Responses

12
10
8
6

Response

4
2
0
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Code

4.4.5 Question 5
Question 5, “What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard,” is the
question in a series that attempts to explain what possible roles of disaster management the
airport could play. Table 4.6 represents the key to Figure 4.7 According to Figure 4.6, codes 2
and 11 represent the two main ideological views of the airport; in partnership with a
community and in isolation, respectively. Within each code, lie sub-codes. In this case, the subcodes for code 2 includes codes 3-10; likewise in 12-21 in code 11. Code 1 represents how many
interviewees successfully responded to that question. Figure 4.6, displays a majority of
responses in code 11, with a response of 7. However, there this is a wide range of responses in
the parent code 11. Unlike parent code 11, code 2 contains 6 responses of which 4 believe that
that the airport should communicate information between government officials.

322

Table A.5 – Question 5 Key
Code
Detailed Code
1 1. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural hazard?
2
a. Act dependently
3
i. Communicate Information
4
1. Local governments
5
2. State governments
6
3. Federal governments
7
ii. Resume operations as quickly as possible
8
iii. Evacuations
9
iv. Shelter
10
b. Act independently
11
i. To be informed about the approaching hazard
12
1. Work with local government but act
independently
13
2. To be informed about the approaching
hazard
14
ii. Improve/fix critical infrastructure
15
iii. Adaptive use for infrastructure
16
1. Concerns
17
iv. Resume operations as quickly as possible
18
v. Communicate Information
19
vi. Preparation
20
vii. Mutual Aid
21
viii. Shelter

323

Response
11
6
4
2
2
2
1
2
1
7
1
0
1
3
1
1
2
3
1
1
1

Figure A.6 – Total Responses for Question 5

Total Responses for Question 5
12

Total Responses

10
8
6
Responses

4
2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
Code

4.4.6 Question 6
Question 6, “What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural disaster,”
attempts to establish information as to what type of joint activities the airport and government
agencies play immediately after a disaster. Table 4.6 represents the key to Figure 4.7. According
to Figure 4.7, codes 2 and 12 represent the two main ideological views of the airport; in
partnership with a community and in isolation, respectively. Within each code, lie sub-codes. In
this case, the sub-codes for code 2 includes codes 3-11; likewise in 13-18 in code 12. Code 1
represents how many interviewees successfully responded to that question. Code 2 contains
numerous sub-codes of which each sub-code contains few responses. Since code 2 contains
numerous sub-codes which each contain few responses, it leads to a wide range of possible
roles for the airport with little agreement among interviewees. Therefore, a generalized role
can be created for question 6. The airport’s role should be to help the community, as indicated

324

by 6 responses in code 2. Although, as previously mentioned, that type of help or assistance
towards communities is ambiguous.
Table A.6 – Question 6 Key
Code
Detailed Code
1 1. What should be the airport’s role in response to a natural
disaster?
2
a. Act dependently
3
i. To be a tool for surrounding communities
4
1. Dependent on type of airport
5
2. Dependent on governmental requirements
6
3. Operational Ultimatum
7
ii. Acting as a staging area
8
iii. For incoming delivery
9
iv. Evacuation
10
v. Take lead role in recovery
11
vi. Shelter
12
b. Act independently
13
i. To follow FAA and TSA guidelines to become legally
operational
14
ii. Shelter
15
iii. Hindered by need to be operational
16
iv. Assessment
17
c.
Limited Role
18
i. Dependent on airport

325

Response
12
6
2
1
1
2
0
2
2
2
1
5
3
1
0
1
2
1

Figure A.7 – Total Responses for Question 6

Total Responses for Question 6
14

Total Responses

12
10
8
6

Responses

4
2
0
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Code

4.4.7 Question 7
Question 7 is, “What should be the airport’s role in preventing a disaster?” Table 4.7
represents the key to Figure 4.8. According to Figure 4.8, codes 2 and 15 represent the two
main ideological views of the airport; in partnership with a community and in isolation,
respectively. Within each code, lie sub-codes. In this case, the sub-codes for code 2 includes
codes 3-14; likewise in 16-22 in code 15. Code 1 represents how many interviewees successfully
responded to that question. Figure 4.8, displays a majority of responses in code 2, with a
response of 10. This suggests that a majority of interviewees believe the airport should act in
partnerships to decrease the likelihood of a hazard transforming into a disaster. Many
responded that airport’s partnership should be with government agencies; specifically; 4
responses suggested that the airport partner with local governments (code 10), 2 responses

326

suggested with state governments (code 11), and 1 response suggested with the federal
government.
Table A.7 – Question 7 Key
Code
Detailed Code
Response
1 1. What should be the airport’s role in prevention of a Disaster?
12
2
a. Act dependently
10
3
i. Provide supplementary roles to the community
2
4
1. Deliver goods and services
0
5
2. Act as a staging ground
1
6
3. Evacuations
0
7
4. Communication
2
8
ii. Protect critical infrastructure
4
9
iii. Work with other forms of government
6
10
1. Local
4
11
2. State
2
12
3. Federal
1
13
iv. Update Emergency plan
1
14
v. Shelter
0
15
b. Act independently
7
16
i. Protect critical infrastructures
3
17
ii. Adaptative use for infrastructure
3
18
iii. Work with other forms of government
0
19
iv. Utilizing available resources
1
20
v. Become operational as quickly as possible
2
21
vi. Update Emergency plan (Preparation)
2

327

Figure A.8 – Total Responses for Question 7

Total Responses for Question 7
14

Total Responses

12
10
8
6

Responses

4
2
0
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Code

4.4.8 Question 8
Question 8 is, “What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster,”
and is the last structured main question. Table 4.8 represents the key to Figure 4.9. According
to Figure 4.9, codes 2 and 8 represent the two main ideological views of the airport; in
partnership with a community and in isolation, respectively. Within each code, lie sub-codes. In
this case, the sub-codes for code 2 includes codes 3-7; likewise in 9-15 in code 8. Code 1
represents how many interviewees successfully responded to that question. Figure 4.9, displays
a majority of responses in code 8, with a response of 10. This suggests that 10 interviewees had
an opinion that the airport should act in accordance to recovering itself from a disaster.

328

Table A.8 – Question 8 Key
Code
Detailed Code
Response
1 1. What should be the airport’s role in recovery from a natural disaster?
13
2
a. Act dependently
6
3
i. Provide supplementary roles
2
4
ii. Deliver goods and services
3
5
iii. Act as a staging ground
2
6
iv. Shelter
0
7
v. Communication
0
8
b. Act independently
10
9
i. Reach operational capabilities
8
10
ii. Respond to other airports in need
2
11
iii. Assessment
2
12
iv. Work w/ tenets
1
13
v. Shelter
0
14
c.
To act as
0
15
d. Limited/unknown roll
1

Figure A.9 – Total Responses for Question 8

Total Responses for Question 8
14

Total Responses

12
10
8
6

Responses

4
2
0
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Code

329

10

11

12

13

14

15

4.5 Community Engagement and Self Preservation
Another similar style of analysis but with different categories is determining what the
overall view of the interviewees is by describing the airports’ role as self preservation
(independent) or a partnership with a community (dependent). Figure 4.10, displays the results
from subtracting the independent coded responses with the dependent coded responses. The
figure suggests, as indicated by the mean of 3.15, that overall, the interviewees tend to believe
the airport’s role is and should be part of a community’s adaptation process. The spread of the
coded responses also suggests that the data favors a dependent role for the airport with a
standard deviation of 8.82. This spread is also reinforced by the figure, which suggests that the
interviewees who believe the airport’s role is dependent, or should help the community, tend
to strongly believe in that role. Research participant 11 recorded over 15 coded responses for
the airport’s role being dependent or centered on community participation. Conversely,
interviewees who believed that the airport’s role should be to act independently believe so in a
less severe magnitude, in comparison to interviewees who suggested a dependent role. One
exception is research participant 5, who strongly believed that the airport should act
independently, by having over 15 coded responses.

330

Figure A.10 – The Airport’s Role in Community Response

Independent Vs. Dependent View on Airport's
Role
20

Dependent

15
10
5
0
-5

Overall Response

-10

Average

-15

Independent

-20
SW

TP

JS

HH

AS

AW

DG

RG

JC

JG

JD

AP

DB

4.6 Occupational Differences in Responses
However, the airport’s role can also be separated by interviewee’s employment sector of
consultant, airport official, or government official. The different responses, through their
employment sector, to what an airport’s role is or should be can create patterns within the
dataset. Figure 4.11, displays the average code response per consultants.

331

Figure A.11 – Average Response per Consultant

Average Response per Consultant
1.2

Response

1
0.8
0.6
Average Response
0.4

Average Response per Code

0.2
1
10
19
28
37
46
55
64
73
82
91
100
109
118
127
136
145
154
163
172
181

0
Code

4.7 Comparing and Contrasting Responses by Employment Type
4.7.1 Government Officials versus Airport Officials
Comparing and contrasting each employment sector with the other displays contrasting
views of the airport’s role. Figure 4.13 displays the different views government officials have
with airport officials. It appears that there are certain codes that government officials feel more
strongly about in comparison to airport officials. As shown in Figure 4.13, codes 1-19 favors the
government officials more strong. These codes are based on the airport acting in partnership
the surrounding community. This suggests but does not imply that government officials, when
compared to airport officials, tend to view the airport’s role in response to an approaching
hazard as a tool for surrounding communities. Likewise, the government averaged a higher
code response in codes 169 – 181 in comparison to airport officials, suggesting their view on
what the airport’s role should be in recovery from a disaster is more conservative in the sense
332

that the airport should act in self preservation. For example, the airport should be assessed and
meet FAA guidelines to become operational as quickly as possible.
Table 4.13 – Statistical Output of Consultants’ versus Government Officials’ Responses
Consultant Vs. Government
Statistic
Value
Mean
-0.02162
Standard Deviation
0.019026
Skewness
-0.20252

Figure A.14 – Average Response Differences between Government Officials’ and
Airport Officials’

Consultants Vs. Government
Total Responses

1

Consultants

0.5
0
-0.5

Government
1
7
13
19
25
31
37
43
49
55
61
67
73
79
85
91
97
103
109
115
121
127
133
139
145
151
157
163
169
175
181

-1

Code

4.7.2 Consultants versus Airport Officials
When examining the responses between consultants and airport officials there are noticeable
differences in their respective response. Overall, it appears that consultants have a stronger
opinion on what the airport’s role should be, as presented in Figure 4.15, with a mean value of
0.014, as shown in Table 4.4. Likewise, a negative skew suggests that a concentration of
positive values outweighs the negative values. Therefore, in this scenario of testing the
responses between consultants and airport officials, a negative skew further suggests that

333

consultants had a stronger opinion of the airport. This approach was also applied to the
responses between consultants and government officials.
Table A.14 – Statistical Output of Consultants’ versus Airport Officials’ Responses
Consultant Vs. Airport
Mean
0.014054
Standard
0.257767
Deviation
Skewness
-0.46578
Figure A.15 – Average Response Differences between Consultants’ Vs. Airport
Officials’ Responses

Consultants Vs. Airport
Total Responses

1

Consultants

0.5
0
-0.5

Airport
1
7
13
19
25
31
37
43
49
55
61
67
73
79
85
91
97
103
109
115
121
127
133
139
145
151
157
163
169
175
181

-1

Code

Contradictory to other comparisons, the responses between consultants and government
officials led to a smooth response. The mean difference between these two entities is about
0.035, as shown in Table 4.15, suggesting that the average difference weights more towards the
consulting sector, indicating that consultants either had more relative opinions about the
airport’s role or a higher concentration of responses for a particular code. This is reinforced by a
skew score of about -0.039 suggesting that the consultants have either more opinions or
stronger opinions about the airport’s role.

334

Table A.15 – Statistical Output of Government Officials’ versus Airport Officials’
Responses
Government Vs. Airport
Mean
0.035676
Standard
0.232713
Deviation
Skewness
-0.03962
Figure A.16 – Average Response Differences between Government Officials’ versus
Airport Officials’ Responses

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8

Government

Airport
1
7
13
19
25
31
37
43
49
55
61
67
73
79
85
91
97
103
109
115
121
127
133
139
145
151
157
163
169
175
181

Average Responses

Government Vs. Airport

Code

335

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336

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