On February 16, 2023, the FAA Final Rule requiring SMS for part 139 certificated airports was approved and officially published in the Federal Register on February 23, 2023. This final rule was the culmination of over ten years of studies, research, and development of airport safety into the SMS model. The final rule requires certain airports to develop, implement, maintain, and adhere to a safety management system (SMS) to address safety at an organizational level, as part of the FAA’s approach to expand the benefits of SMS in mitigating safety issues. The rule becomes effective on April 24, 2023, so it is imperative for applicable airports to understand the requirements of the rule and devise a plan for implementation.
Applicability of the Rule
The rule does not apply to all airports certificated under Part 139. Airports that meet one or more of the following triggering criteria defined by the FAA are required to develop a SMS under this final rule:
(a) classified as large, medium, or small hubs, based on passenger data extracted from the FAA Air Carrier Activity Information System;
(b) that have a 3-year rolling average of 100,000 or more total annual operations, meaning the sum of all arrivals and departures; or
(c) that serve any international operation other than general aviation.
Based on the above criteria, over 200 of America’s busiest commercial airports are required to implement SMS. This enables safety benefits to flow to airports that handle the majority of domestic aircraft operations in the United States as well as airports that handle international passenger operations to ensure compliance with global standards and advised practices with the least amount of regulatory burden.
Timeline and Next Steps for Successful Implementation
The timeline to fully implement SMS ranges from four to five and a half years depending on the airports’ classification and operations. Airports have between 12-24 months to submit an implementation plan (based on the applicable trigger), 12 months from the approval of the implementation plan to submit a SMS manual or ACM update, and 36 months from the approval of the implementation plan to fully implement SMS.
To successfully implement SMS, airports must, at a minimum, complete the following tasks:
- Define safety objectives.
- Identify the necessary steps for establishing a SMS that will meet internal rules and FAA rule.
- Assign roles and responsibilities to relevant airport staff.
- Document safety policies and procedures.
- Train airport staff and promote positive safety culture.
While implementing SMS may seem intimidating for airports, this process can be simplified with SMS software. SMS software allows airports to capture and distribute real-time safety data to proactively identify hazards and mitigate risks. Airports must take advantage of SMS software, an excellent resource that can streamline key SMS processes, including safety reporting, hazard identification, risk assessments, corrective actions, etc.
ProDIGIQ's SMS solution (ProSafeT) was built in collaboration with the FAA and a consortium of U.S.-based airlines in 2016. ProSafeT includes four modules, each addressing a core pillar of SMS, providing a holistic overview of safety data in an enterprise safety management system. ProDIGIQ has supported Part 121 operators in implementing SMS in compliance with the FAA SMS final rule for air carriers and has the experience to support Part 139 airports in implementing a compliant SMS in relation to the FAA SMS final rule for airports. With several successful implementations over the past seven years, ProSafeT is a tried and trusted SMS solution in the aviation industry.
With effective preparation, appropriate resources, and advanced software tools, airports can seamlessly implement and adhere to the SMS requirements in compliance with the FAA’s final rule.
