Runway Safety

Runway safety embraces all mattters concerned with the identification and prevention of hazards that might impede the safe take off, taxiing and landing at an aerodrome of all types of aircraft. Runwat Safety includes Runway Incursion and Runway Excursion.

Runway Incursion Prevention

The European Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions is based upon the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and is therefore suitable for universal application. The ICAO Runway Incursion definition is “Any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take off of aircraft.”
Since the first release of the European Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions, Local Runway Safety Teams have been established at hundreds of airports across Europe. The implementation of the recommendations contained in the first version of the Action Plan has been extensive, thanks to these teams and the organisations that support them. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has now embedded this concept as an essential requirement to the European Union “EASA Basic Regulation”, a key element in helping to raise the safety of runway operations at European airports.

European Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions

Additional documents:

Runway Excursion Prevention

A runway excursion occurs when an aircraft departs the runway in use during the take-off or landing run. The excursion may be intentional or unintentional. The European Working Group for Runway Excursion Prevention (EWGRS) is lead by EUROCONTROL with the support of ECAST.

IATA Runway Excursion Risk Reduction (RERR) Toolkit

Download the full toolkit

IATA joined with ICAO and many other international safety organizations to create the 2nd of the Runway Excursion Risk Reduction Toolkit (RERR 2nd Edition). The RERR 2nd edition includes many new features including a benchmark industry-wide survey based on the Air Carrier Self Audit Checklist; a new Runway Excursion Risk Management Process (RMP) for operators; and case studies designed to be used in workshops and classroom sessions.

It includes materials to support a 2-day runway excursion workshop, and computer animations of events that nearly resulted in runway excursions. It also emphasizes airport and air navigation service provider’s activities with best practices for ATM and aerodromes, and Self Audit Checklists for aerodrome operators and regulators.

All sections are free and downloadable, and we encourage you to take the time and download the toolkit by either clicking on the file name or on the icon.

Articles within the Runway Excursion Category in SKYbrary:

Overrun on Take Off