View Rule

Statement of Need: The last major revision to the airport certification regulation occurred in 1987, and since then, industry practices and technology have changed. To respond to such changes, the FAA is proposing to revise the regulation to clarify and update several requirements. Additionally, with the passage of the 1996 FAA Reauthorization Act, Congress provided the FAA the necessary authority to certificate airports serving scheduled air carrier operations with 10- to 30-seat aircraft, except in the State of Alaska (in addition to existing authority to regulate airports serving air carrier operations using aircraft with more than 30 seats). To achieve a comparable level of safety at all covered airports, FAA now proposes to exercise this authority and amend the regulation to incorporate airports serving smaller air carrier aircraft into the FAA's airport certification program. Also, the 2000 FAA Reauthorization Act (P.L. 106-181) mandates publication of the NPRM within 60 days of the Act's enactment; and publication of the final rule within one year of the close of comment period for airports serving smaller air carrier aircraft.

Summary of the Legal Basis: FAA has general and specific authority to regulate airports as set out in 49 USC 106(g) and 44701.

Alternatives: The FAA has considered several alternative approaches to this proposed rulemaking and has attempted to minimize the potential economic impact of the proposal, especially the impact on small entities. In addition, this action fulfills the FAA's responsibility to meet deadlines established by Congress to certificate airports serving scheduled air carrier operations with 10- to 30-seat aircraft, except for the State of Alaska. The FAA considered alternatives based on two issues. Issue 1 was the revision of 14 CFR 139, and issue 2 was the certification of airports serving scheduled operations of small air carrier aircraft with 10 to 30 passenger seats. The FAA determined that it was necessary to revise 14 CFR 139 and that the revised part 139 should include the certification of airports serving scheduled air carrier operations with 10- to 30-passenger seat aircraft.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: Most of the costs of this proposed rule are associated with the proposed improvements to safety and operational requirements. Most of these costs result from the expansion of ARFF services. The present value of the total cost of the rule over a 10-year period is approximately $46 million, which includes training, additional emergency response protection, wildlife management, and an updated airport certification manual that better reflects current best practices. With the tremendous cost of aviation accidents, the proposed rule provides the potential for enhanced safety for a reasonable cost. The expected benefit of this proposed rule is an enhanced level of safety resulting in reduced fatalities, injuries, and property damage at airports with scheduled air carrier operations, particularly operations in aircraft configured with 10 to 30 passenger seats. The cost of a single accident of a 30-seat scheduled passenger aircraft is greater than the total cost of the proposal. Other benefits of this proposal include provisions for snow and ice control, wildlife management, and training.

Risks: The purpose of this rulemaking is to expand and enhance the safety benefits of the current regulation by providing, to the extent possible, a comparable level of safety at all airports used by air carriers.