Airport Response to Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Threats is a National Safe Skies Alliance Program for Applied Research in Airport Security (PARAS) report sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

UAS operations around airports can be from numerous operators with varying intents. This guidebook is not intended to provide best practices to restrict UAS operations, but rather to prepare for the non-responsible operators: the clueless, careless, and reckless. Authorized and safe UAS operations in and around airports are not the focus of these responses.

An airport’s response to a UAS threat will be most successful when the response is planned, documented, and effectively executed by trained staff. Airport officials can utilize this guidebook to develop their own response plans that incorporate the unique characteristics and structure of their
airports.

Publication Date- September 2021

Airport Response to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Threats contains the following major sections:

  • Planning
  • Threat Assessment
  • Response
  • Recovery
  • Examples and Case Studies
  • References
  • Appendix A- Example Tabletop Exercise
  • Appendix B- Recurrent Training Test
  • Appendix C- Community Engagement Samples

National Safe Skies Alliance, Inc. (Safe Skies) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply Safe Skies or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the
material, request permission from Safe Skies.

The Airport Response to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Threats document is attached below.

National Safe Skies Alliance, Inc.

National Safe Skies Alliance (Safe Skies) is a non-profit organization that works with airports, government, and industry to maintain a safe and effective aviation security system. Safe Skies’ core services focus on helping airport operators make informed decisions about their perimeter and access control security.

Through the ASSIST (Airport Security Systems Integrated Support Testing) Program, Safe Skies conducts independent, impartial evaluations of security equipment, systems, and processes at airports throughout the nation. Individual airports use the results to make informed decisions when deploying security technologies and procedures.

Through the POST (Performance and Operational System Testing) Program, Safe Skies conducts long-term evaluations of airport-owned equipment to track and document a device or system’s performance continuously over its life cycle.

Through PARAS (Program for Applied Research in Airport Security), Safe Skies provides a forum for addressing security problems identified by the aviation industry.

A Board of Directors and an Oversight Committee oversee Safe Skies’ policies and activities. The Board of Directors focuses on organizational structure and corporate development; the Oversight Committee approves
PARAS projects and sets ASSIST Program priorities. Funding for our programs is provided by the Federal Aviation Administration.

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Post Image- Airport at sunset (Image Credit: envatoelements by Chalabala)