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.

FMI: www.nata.aero