FAA Launches Final Initiative of Runway Safety Portfolio

Runway Incursion Device will be installed at 74 airports; FAA continues rollout of Surface Awareness Initiative and Approach Runway Verification 

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is rolling out an enhanced safety technology at 74 air traffic control towers. The Runway Incursion Device (RID) is the third of three fast-tracked initiatives launched out of the February 2023 Safety Call to Action to improve runway safety and reduce runway incursions.  

The RID is a memory aid for air traffic controllers that improves safety by indicating when a runway is occupied or closed. It can identify up to eight runways and will now be a standard technology, replacing a variety of devices at control towers.   

 “The Runway Incursion Device is another vital tool to keep the flying public safe,” said Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau. “These initiatives will continue to address the needs of our controllers by cutting through the red tape and bringing the most up-to-date technologies to their fingertips.”   

RID is one of the three situational-awareness solutions in the FAA’s fast-tracked surface safety portfolio, which includes the Surface Awareness Initiative system (SAI) and Approach Runway Verification system (ARV).   

The RID is operational in four locations: Centennial Airport in Colorado, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport in Missouri and Portland International Airport in Oregon. The device will be live in Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, Hollywood Burbank Airport in California and Boise Airport in Idaho in the next month. The FAA will deploy it at 69 other airports throughout the country by the end of 2026.  

SAI is operational at 18 airports and the FAA plans to install it at 32 others by the end of 2025. ARV is in 85 control towers, and the FAA will continue implementing it at other facilities across the nation. SAI uses Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADB-S) data to display surface traffic to controllers at airports that do not have a surface surveillance tool. ARV provides controllers with visual and audible alerts if an approaching aircraft is lined up to land on the wrong airport surface, or even the wrong airport.  

See for yourself: Check your local airport to see what surface safety technologies are in place here.  

Learn how RID works: Blog - FAA Launches Improved Runway Safety Tool