Project Description Infectious disease transmission is a significant concern during air travel for flight crew, airport employees, and the flying public. Commercial air travel has seen a steady increase in passengers over the last 20 years. Perhaps even more importantly, transformational change to the nation's air traffic control systems embodied by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) initiative is planned to accommodate more than a doubling of aviation growth by 2025 over the baseline year of 2005. As such, millions of people pass through international airports every day today and even a larger volume will be accommodated in the future. During these travels passengers, visitors, airport and airline employees may be exposed to a large number of fellow passengers and airline and airport employees that are afflicted with infectious diseases that may be transmittable. The objective of this project is to determine high-risk exposure opportunities for the transmission of human infectious disease at airports and on aircraft, identifying mitigation measures, and providing guidance to help airports and aircraft operators develop targeted strategies for responding to identified risks. This project is sponsored by the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), an industry-driven, applied research program that develops near-term, practical solutions to problems faced by airport operators. ACRP is managed by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies and sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The principal investigator is Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc. (EH&E), an engineering and environmental consulting firm with specialized experience in addressing complex building-related engineering and environmental issues having serious and potentially significant ramifications on people, businesses, and institutions. EH&E is responsible for managing the overall project, coordinating the research and the development of reports and guidance documents.
