Airport vulnerability assessment-an analytical approach

The Airport Vulnerability Assessment Project (AVAP), is the direct result of congressional funding of recommendation 3.13 of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. This project takes a new approach to the assessment of US commercial airports. AVAP uses automation analytical methods and tools to evaluate vulnerability and risk, and to analyze cost/benefits in a more quantitative manner. This paper addresses both the process used to conduct this program as well as an unclassified look at the results which have been achieved for the initial airport assessments. The process description covers the acquisition approach, the project structure, and a review of the various methodologies and tools being used by the 8 individual performing organizations (Battelle, BDM, SAIC, Lockwood Greene, CTI, Abacus Technology, Science and Engineering Associates, and the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center). The tools described include ASSESS, SAM, RiskWatch, CASRAP and BlastFX. Included in the process is the establishment and use of an advisory panel made up predominantly of experts from the National Laboratories (Sandia, Oak Ridge Argonne and Brookhaven). The results portion addresses the findings and products resulting from the initial airport assessments