IATA, CANSO, ACI Launch Global Initiative to Reduce Runway Incursions
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) and Airports Council International (ACI) have unveiled a joint global initiative aimed at reducing the risk of runway incursions, reinforcing industry-wide efforts to enhance aviation safety through stronger collaboration, improved reporting and coordinated risk management.
The organisations announced that the Joint Runway Safety Initiative is designed to tackle one of the aviation industry’s persistent safety concerns by bringing together airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, regulators and frontline personnel to identify and address runway-related risks before they lead to accidents.
A runway incursion is defined as the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on a runway or within its protected area. Such incidents continue to feature in IATA’s Annual Safety Reports, with several recent occurrences resulting in fatal accidents, underscoring the need for enhanced preventive measures.
According to the three global aviation bodies, preventing runway incursions requires close cooperation among all stakeholders operating within the airport environment, supported by robust safety data, effective communication and globally harmonised safety standards.
The initiative will focus on three key priority areas to strengthen runway safety worldwide.
The first is improving safety reporting and data collection by encouraging more comprehensive reporting of runway incidents, near misses, precursor events and observations from frontline personnel.
The organisations believe that better-quality safety data will enable operators to identify emerging risks earlier and implement corrective actions before incidents escalate.
The second priority is strengthening Local Runway Safety Teams, which serve as the primary platform for airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and other stakeholders to assess local operational risks, develop mitigation strategies and coordinate safety improvements.
The third area centres on sharing progress, experiences and lessons learnt so that successful safety practices can be replicated across airports and aviation organisations operating in similar environments around the world.
Commenting on the initiative, Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President for Operations, Safety and Security, stressed that aviation’s strong safety record depends on continuous improvement and collective action.
He said flying remains the safest form of long-distance travel, adding that maintaining this record requires relentless commitment to global standards, safety intelligence and collaboration across the aviation value chain.
According to Careen, the new initiative will bring airlines, airports and air navigation service providers together to identify runway hazards at an earlier stage and take coordinated action to reduce operational risks.
The programme builds on several existing international runway safety efforts, including the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions (GAPPRI), a collaborative initiative involving the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Eurocontrol and the Flight Safety Foundation, with endorsements from IATA, ACI and CANSO.
It also complements the ICAO Global Runway Safety Action Plan by providing practical tools and programmes developed by the three organisations to support implementation at airports and among aviation operators.
Among the resources supporting the initiative are ACI’s Runway Safety Team Implementation Package, developed under its APEX in Safety programme, the jointly developed ACI-CANSO Runway Safety Checklist, IATA’s Runway Incursion Safety Risk Assessment framework, the GAPPRI gap-analysis tool for airlines, and airline safety assessments conducted under the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) programme.
Andrea Sack, Senior Vice President for Global Operations at CANSO, emphasised that runway safety depends on effective communication and coordinated decision-making among all operational stakeholders at airports.
She said strong Local Runway Safety Teams provide an essential platform where air traffic controllers, airport operators, airlines and other partners can work together to identify operational risks and agree on practical measures to improve safety.
Also speaking, Darryl Dowd, Vice President of Safety, Security and Operations at ACI World, noted that airports occupy a central position in managing runway safety because every component of the aviation system converges within the airport environment.
He said local operational knowledge, combined with sustained collaboration among industry stakeholders, is critical to transforming global safety guidance into measurable reductions in runway risks.
Dowd reaffirmed ACI’s commitment to supporting airports worldwide in implementing the available runway safety tools and best practices to strengthen operational safety and reduce the likelihood of incursions.
The Joint Runway Safety Initiative represents another step in the aviation industry’s collective commitment to maintaining and enhancing global safety standards by promoting proactive risk management, stronger partnerships and greater information sharing across the international aviation community.
