Critical Infrastructure Security Emergency Management: An Assessment of Richmond-Virginia International Airport

Abstract

The role of airports in modern society and economy has grown significantly and can be anticipated to grow further. As critical infrastructures in the service industry, airports remain vulnerable to outbursts of safety and security disruptions which may result in crises. Crisis management literature indicates that crises originate from incubation, manifestation, and development of dormant organizational contexts. With the dynamic growth of air travel infrastructure and work environment, vigilant attention must be paid so as to detect signals that may indicate vulnerability to safety and security and thus be well positioned to preventing risks from mounting to tragic events. This report details an exploration of potential aspects of vulnerability to safety and security disruptions in Richmond-Virginia International Airport as a sociotechnical system.

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Introduction

With the world tending towards globalization drift, air travel has gained a lot of social and economic importance. A report by World Bank (2015) shows that the number of passengers in air travel worldwide was approximately 3.21 billion in 2014 and this number is projected to rise to 6.63 billion by 2032. Air Transport Action Group (2014) implies that the aviation global economic impact stands at 2.4 trillion US dollars and supports about 3.4% of global Gross Domestic Production. It is critical to note that most airports are under faced with constant pressure from stakeholders whose interest are highly likely to be conflicting. Therefore, the coexistence of compliance with security regulations and economic goals may influence decisions in airport operations to be more improvised than adhering to the outlined regulations. It is due to occurrences of events like Moscow terrorist attack in 2011, H1N1 flu in 2009, and Japanese earthquake in 2011 just to mention a few that the necessity of addressing the issue of vulnerability of airports like the Richmond International Airport has heightened.

Security Stakeholders

As indicated by HIRA (2017), Richmond as a city is vulnerable to various hazards including extreme weather conditions, incidents of exposure to hazardous materials, and terrorism. For this reason, guided by the Virginia Emergency Services and Disaster Laws, Richmond city has Emergency Operations plan that acts as a structure for providing support to affected groups, individuals, and businesses. Richmond-Virginia International Airport is supposed to conduct its operations in adherence to Incident Command System, Homeland Security Directives and National Response Framework (City of Richmond Emergency Operations Plan (EOPA, 2012). These bodies are coordinated through interagency emergency operation policies which in conjunction with the outlined emergency plan are the main framework that guides security and disaster response apparatus in course of response to hazards. Other bodies include the Transport Safety Administration (TSA), and non-governmental voluntary teams like Red Cross.

The U.S. government is on high alert to reduce risks posed by cargo and luggage handlers and other workers who are cleared for access to secure areas. However, the CEO of Richmond International Airport express concerns on the top down strategy employed by Transport Safety Administration (Zullo, 2016). Apart from a recent gun smuggling incident in Atlanta Airport, TSA is mentioned to have failed to identify 73 individuals who had terrorism-related codes, a problem that the Department of Homeland Security associated with lack of authorization of TSA to access terrorism-related information. This implies that TSA has inadequate controls for criminal background checks, an issue which poses an insider threat to airport security and safety from which disruption of air travel can have global implications.

In terms of structure, Richmond Airport is accessible from Richard E Byrd Terminal Dr. The Airlines baggage claim area, Delta parking and the Southwest parking are in close proximity to the entrance points of the terminal. Adjacent to delta parking is Rental Car Garage from which people can access car hire services. More parking space is available across Richard E Byrd Terminal Dr where hourly and daily parking services are available More parking facilities are available at Economy A and Economy B parking accessible from Ferncort road. Across the first level lobbies is the employee lot that is directly accessible from the main access road. The Federal Delta Cargo is accessed from the Airport through Air Express Rd which connects to Federal Road. It is notable that the Fifth District Federal Reserve Bank is situated in Richmond with close proximity to the Airport. Every segment of these facilities puts unique weight on the need for alertness in ensuring security and safety of the airport clients, workers, and their property, and the airport infrastructure in general.

Description of Assessments

Threat Assessment

Natural hazards that are likely to affect Richmond region include conditions of extreme weather like storms and high winds. Threats of structural collapse and exposure of hazardous materials are termed as accidental human-caused risks while sabotage and terrorist attacks are viewed as malicious human intended risks. In cases of occurrence of extreme weather conditions, a threat to airport operations would be posted in the perspective that delays in air traffic would be inevitable as a measure of ensuring the safety of clients and airport personnel. Accidental threats are in most cases unforeseen and in cases of occurrence, it would be the mandate of TSA and Homeland Security Department to mobilize other players within the interagency scope to adequately respond to the emerged crisis. Threats that are termed malicious are incidental and targeted. This sort of risk can lead to tragic human and economic implications and thus, security apparatus should be always vigilant and on high alert to identify and respond to signals that may indicate risks of malice or malice that could be targeted at any part of infrastructure associated to the Richmond Airport.

Vulnerability Assessment

The vulnerability of Richmond Airport to extreme weather and occurrences of other natural hazards like earthquakes are unlikely but cannot be out ruled.

The effect, in case of occurrence of extremes in weather and natural disasters, is considered to pose critical levels of vulnerability to operations of the airport. With adherence to safety parameters put in place, this category of threats cannot turn out to be catastrophic because awareness and warnings would be raised in time. The criticality of this threat extends to possible disruptions of flight plans in routes served by the Richmond-Virginia Airport.

Threats posed by cases of accidents affecting airport infrastructure are in this context considered limited. This is in consideration to the regulations imposed for the purpose of ensuring safety and security standards are met at any point of installation and maintenance of airport facilities. Accidents are more associated with human errors rather than technological failures. Therefore, attention should be highly regarded to ensuring competence and reliability of workers involved management of the airport infrastructure and utilities. Despite being unlikely incidents, accidental threats can be catastrophic depending on their scale and the specific infrastructure involved, consider a case of an accidental plane crash.

A critical vulnerability occurs from the threat posed by terrorism and intended destruction targeted at any part of the airport. According to GAO (2016), measures, like operating a separate employees' access point and running frequent screening of employees, are moves adopted to heightened safety in the airport. However, Richmond Airport has not majored on the detailed screening of workers. Also, TSA lacks adequate privileges from interagency policy to run background checks on vetted workers and there have been cases of loss of access badges of workers allowed in the airport's operation areas. These aspects imply a possibility of threats of terror and malice which though rare, may lead to the critical security crisis in case of occurrence.

Conclusion

In summary, the Richmond-Virginia international Airport has made enormous efforts to ensure the safety of this complex sociotechnical infrastructure. Information on flight schedules and any disruptions are timely provided through their websites and other channels to avoid chaos and confusions that may emerge from inconveniences. The management partners with interagency emergency response bodies to ensure that operational crisis are mitigated and that threats to public safety and security are monitored and contained in a timely manner. Another security measure is the provision of employees to use a separate access point other than those used by clients. This approach allows chances of screening workers to limit insider threat which may be posed by persons with access to restricted operation areas.

References

EOPA (2012). City of Richmond Emergency Operations Plan.

GAO (2016). Airport Perimeter and Access Control Would Benefit from Risk Assessment and Strategy Updates. Report to Congressional Requesters. United States Government Accountability Office.

HIRA (2017) Richmond-Crater Multi-Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment.

Zullo, R. (2016). "RIC Wary of Government Analysis of Risks Posed by Airport Employees". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved from www.richmond.com/news. Date retrieved; 25th April 2018.