Section 9: Operations

Section 9:

Operations

Operations

It is the Rhode Island Airport Corporation’s job to think about the unthinkable and to be prepared for every emergency imaginable. To properly protect all who fly from Rhode Island, requires constant training and drills, as well as considerable investments in public safety infrastructure.

RIAC Replaced Two Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Trucks to Ensure Continued Passenger Safety

In 2020, RIAC replaced two older fire response vehicles with the purchase of a new 2019 and 2020 Rosenbauer Panther 4x4. This state-ofthe-art Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle can carry 1,600 gallons of water, 200 gallons of foam, 460 pounds of halon, and 500 pounds of dry chemical extinguishing agent to help better protect Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport. The selected Panther ARFF vehicles have the industry’s shortest overall wheelbase for enhanced maneuverability and suspension, yet maintains a low gross vehicle weight to provide swift acceleration to enhance safety and performance with exceptional visibility and ease of operation. By providing RIAC’s highly trained ARFF personnel with the tools they need to do their job, RIAC is better able to promote operational excellence to foster the safety and security of passengers.

Identify and Replace a Vehicle Maintenance Work Order System

Aviation organizations like RIAC operate in a highly developed industry that requires high standards of service, quality, and safety. Therefore, to ensure this, it is vital to choose the latest technology intelligent management solution. In one of many efforts to upgrade and modernize maintenance management, while also serving to make Rhode Island

T. F. Green International Airport (PVD) more efficient and reduce Costs Per Enplanement to attract more routes, RIAC replaced an existing outdated database with a new Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS). This system is designed for vehicle fleet maintenance, and the web-based software is designed to track vehicle maintenance and repairs, including full equipment service history and control equipment or vehicle mileage or motor hours. This critically important investment and implementation will help reduce labor and repair costs for a fleet of 175 vehicles by scheduling regular preventive maintenance.

Design and Implement an ARFF Training Program for Complete Disaster Readiness

While Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport’s Public Safety Department requires the proper tools to do their jobs, it is the commitment to excellence of the men and women who make up the airport’s Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) and Police Departments that provides the accurate true measure of public protection. This dedication was on display amid the hottest and muggiest of summer days in 2020 at an FAA-approved training facility, when the ARFF Department, led by ARFF Chief William Greenwood, completed sixteen hands-on, live-fire evolutions. These hands-on trainings aimed to provide PVD’s firefighters with real world conditions that tested both their mental and physical capabilities, while wearing all of the required protective gear and breathing apparatuses. The interior aircraft fire trainer created fire conditions that exceeded 1200 degrees fahrenheit, requiring coordinated teamwork to rescue simulated conscious and unconscious victims from the aircraft while working to extinguishing all of the fires.

Emergency Preparedness

Among all of the trainings and activities that go on at Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport, the most important are the ones that everyone hopes will never be called upon. Yet in RIAC’s efforts to protect and serve the public, emergency situations must always be prepared for. The Rhode Island Airport Corporation, with assistance from the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and Southwest Airlines, conducted an emergency management exercise in September of 2019 simulating an aircraft accident with mass casualties. The Federal Aviation Administration requires a Triennial Full-Scale Preparedness Exercise every three years. These drills are intended to ensure that the airport and RIAC’s public safety partners are fully prepared for a coordinated response in the event a situation ever developed. RIAC’s first responders and public safety personnel were joined by their mutual aid partners throughout the state, including public safety personnel from Warwick, Providence, and Cranston. Representatives from the R.I. Department of Health, R.I. Department of Behavioral Healthcare, and the R.I. Air National Guard. The R.I. State Police and the R.I. Disaster Medical Assistance Team were also involved in the training, along with volunteers from Salve Regina University, Community College of Rhode Island, Providence Emergency Management Agency and the R.I. Red Cross. RIAC and other responders have continued to incorporate the lessons learned from these drills to integrate scenarios and contingencies into emergency preparedness even after the training drill.

Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) Places Airport Caretakers at Every State Airport

In recent years, Rhode Island Airport Corporation has responded to calls from the aviation community to enhance and improve services available at the General Aviation (GA) airports around the state. In an effort to improve management and available services, and after a competitive Request for Proposal process, RIAC entered into a contract with FlightLevel Aviation to provide fixed-based operator services at all state airports. RIAC has also posted employed Airport caretakers at each airport around the state, including Block Island State Airport. The collaboration between assigned airport caretakers and fixed-based operators, like FlightLevel Aviation, has allowed RIAC to provide more comprehensive service and support for the aviation community during both higher volume periods during the week, as well as cover weekend and holiday hours to better serve private aviation.

Group V Aircraft Memorandum of Understanding

As with the Rhode Island Airport Corporation’s police and fire departments, the safety of those who utilize the airports are the top concern of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation. To safely accommodate the most modern and efficient aircraft used by the airline industry, RIAC entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Providence Airport Traffic Control Tower. This Memorandum of Understanding is aimed to provide notification of any Group V aircraft scheduled to arrive at PVD, including the largest and most modern Boeing and Airbus commercial aircraft-ensuring that all are prepared to accommodate a new generation of aircraft requiring proper taxiway clearance and other accommodations.

RIAC has updated the terminal’s inside, as well as landscaping In front of the airport terminal, beautifying both sections. With an eye to seasonal beauty, RIAC has upgraded landscaping by removing old vegetation and replacing it with new perennial and seasonal annual plantings. By creating a pleasing visual appearance with the additional colors added to the aesthetics, this creates the first best impression of the state for both residents and visitors.

Neither Snow nor Sleet…

For any major weather event, RIAC coordinates an active team approach to ensure that Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport and all the state airports remain as safe as possible in all conditions. Unlike roadways, salt cannot be used to melt snow and ice, requiring a rigorous snow removal plan for commercial and general aviation runways around the state. At Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport, investments in runway and treatment facility upgrades also allow the airport to efficiently collect and treat glycol, an organic used for deicing plane wings to prevent any environmental contamination. Although some winters are more challenging than others, RIAC’s operational staff are at their best when local weather is at their worst, with a total of 18 million cubic yards of materials removed from runways in 2021 alone.

Intermodal Transit

Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (PVD) is more than just an airport. It’s an intermodal transportation hub, providing interconnecting service by plane, bus, car rental, commuter parking, and rail service, even including the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). In recent years, RIAC has expanded from the existing bus services provided by the Rhode Island Transit Authority (RIPTA), and other regional bus lines. Although pandemic-related concerns and reductions in travel volume have impacted the availability of certain services, ground transportation services have provided connections to local cities including Boston, Fall River, New

Bedford, and Hyannis. Most recently, RIAC announced it has entered into an agreement with Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) for both drop-off and pick-up. Both Uber and Lyft have signed this agreement, allowing them to offer curbside pick-up for patrons of Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (PVD). Both companies operate in front of the terminal, just a few steps from the terminal doors. Transportation Network Company operators have become a popular alternative transportation option.

Our Response to COVID-19

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, all of the staff at the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) and Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (PVD) have made the safety of travelers their top priority. RIAC and their airline partners take pride in how quickly they have adapted operations to help mitigate exposure and transmission of the virus. From social distancing in security lines, to added hand sanitizing stations at nearly every turn, to the installation of plexiglass and new “no-touch” kiosks for parking and baggage checks. RIAC has worked hand-in-hand with cleaning partners, ISS North America, prior to, and throughout, the COVID-19 pandemic. RIAC is using the latest in electrostatic sprayer technology to apply Environmental and Protective Agency (EPA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved, hospital-grade disinfectant to efficiently and effectively sanitize seating and high touch areas throughout the terminal. RIAC has also provided a dedicated web-page to provide updated airline health and safety information, as well as links to the latest white papers and scientific research regarding the safety of air travel at PVDairport.com. Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport is also helping to promote state, federal, and airline requirements for face coverings, which have been proven in numerous studies to effectively prevent the transmission of COVID-19 on aircraft, as well as inform visitors regarding quarantine rules and how to access local COVID-19 testing sites. RIAC has worked with the State of Rhode Island and the Rhode Island National Guard to accommodate in-airport testing for all passengers at the airport to help provide protection for all Rhode Islanders. We remain ever vigilant, promoting the safety of our patrons, and we look forward to welcoming all back to Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport as our state and nation resume safe travels.