TEB Working Group Adopts Stage II Ban, Restricted Hours
National Air Transportation Association (NATA) President James
K. Coyne, along with Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ), Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey Aviation Director Bill DeCota
and Atlantic Aviation General Manager Joseph Fazio, announced this
week a series of new pledges to the communities surrounding
Teterboro Airport.
As Aero-News reported
Thursday, the pledges come as a result of the efforts
of the Teterboro Airport Industry Working Group, created in late
2005 by the tenants and users of Teterboro Airport (TEB) to address
community concerns with aviation noise and safety. Coyne
(above) and Fazio are the co-chairs of the panel.
"The collaborative effort between the aviation community, the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Congressman Rothman
clearly demonstrates that all parties want to continue to make
Teterboro Airport one of the world’s leading general aviation
airports," said Coyne.
The Teterboro Airport Industry Working Group’s four
subcommittees -- Noise & Emissions, Operations, Safety &
Security, and Regional Advocacy -- have worked together for more
than one year and have identified five major recommendations that
members of the Working Group pledge to implement. Since members of
the Working Group include all of TEB’s five fixed-base
operators, airport users and tenants (including NetJets, Dassault
Falcon, and AIG), and representatives of TEB, the results of their
best efforts at implementation of these voluntary pledges will be
all encompassing and far reaching.
Unlike many other groups of this nature that formed and
disbanded over time, the TEB Working Group will meet quarterly to
monitor progress and modify objectives to address concerns that may
arise in order to fulfill its mission to ensure that Teterboro
Airport is the safest and most secure general aviation airport in
the world.
The TEB Working Group has agreed to comply voluntarily with the
following pledges:
Stage II Aircraft
- Working Group operators immediately agree not to operate Stage
II aircraft at the airport.
Nighttime Curfew
- Working Group operators will adopt a nighttime curfew at TEB.
This curfew will be in effect at the airport between the hours of
11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The only exceptions to the curfew will be
essential night operations.
Weight Limitation
- Working Group operators agree not to operate aircraft having an
operating weight of more than 100,000 pounds at Teterboro Airport
at any time, now or in the future.
Safety
- In order to make TEB a model for the safest general aviation
airport in the nation, a safety culture that makes the maintenance
of an ongoing Safety Management System (SMS) the top priority of
all users will be developed by members of the Working Group. In
partnership with the NATA Safety 1st Program, TEB will establish an
airport-wide SMS (becoming the first non-commercial airport in the
nation to do so). All fixed-base operators have agreed to
participate in the NATA SMS for Ground Operations. All charter
operators will be strongly encouraged to participate in the NATA
SMS for Air Operators.
Security
- All Working Group operators pledge to enhance and refine the
security procedures already in place at TEB and support the airport
in its ultimate goal of becoming the industry's security model for
general aviation airports. TEB and its tenants will implement a
program of aviation/airport security best practices, including
Airport Watch, a partnership program of the Aircraft Owners and
Pilots Association (AOPA) and Transportation Security
Administration (TSA) designed to secure general aviation airports.
The members will support and encourage the Port Authority's effort
to install a state-of-the-art surveillance and perimeter intrusion
alert system at a cost of approximately $15 million. In addition,
the members will provide expertise and develop recommendations for
the TSA in an effort to upgrade on a continuous basis security
procedures applicable to the general aviation industry and general
aviation operators using Teterboro Airport including, but not
limited to, security of aircraft, passengers, cargo and crew.
"[This] is just the start in our initiative to reduce noise and
improve safety and security at TEB," Coyne explained. "In two
weeks, we will be encouraging operators attending the NBAA
Convention in Orlando, Florida, to visit the booth sponsored by the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to sign the pledge board.
After that, I plan to attend a town hall meeting with Congressman
Rothman in early November to discuss these pledges with the
communities surrounding Teterboro Airport."
"These are just two events in a series of commitments that the
TEB Industry Working Group will undertake to ensure that the
general aviation community is aware of and encouraged to sign these
pledges," Coyne added.