IEM Air™ - Air Operations & Support

Air operations are vital to supporting numerous plans and operations conducted at all levels of government, military, and the private sector. Proper planning and coordination are essential to conduct safe and coordinated aviation operations during contingencies, disasters, and major events.
IEM has assisted government, military, and the private sector with planning and operations since 1985. Under National Air Operations and Mass Evacuation Transportation Planning (METP) contracts IEM has been providing aviation expertise to government agencies resulting in:

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Joint Field Office’s Aviation Branch Operations Manual
• National Response Framework (NRF) Aviation Operation Support Annex
• Aviation Cadre Task Books
• State and Local Aviation Planning (SLAP) guidance
• Development of Federal Support Plans (for air evacuations)
• The successful air evacuation of New Orleans during Hurricane Gustav

Air Evacuation Aviation Ground Support
Under contract with FEMA, IEM is conducting airfield site assessments, operations planning (OPLAN), aircraft ground support, and passenger support for mass air evacuations of at-risk population centers. Support will also be made available for air operations during non-emergencies, emergencies, and military contingencies, as well as humanitarian operations.
IEM is conducting airfield site assessments using former Air Mobility Command (AMC) airfield survey team members, Air Mobility Liaison Officers (AMLO), and Contingency Response Wing (CRW) personnel. IEM’s assessment teams use a modified AMC Form 174 – Airfield Survey Form. These airfield site assessments are accepted by FEMA, the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), and AMC to update the airfield suitability and restrictions reports (ASRR) database and conduct planning.
Airfield assessments include supporting pre- and post-evacuations, logistics, and aeromedical evacuations (AE). Post-event assessments are being used to reopen airfields in the impact area and to evaluate incident area airports in order to:

• Determine readiness to accept flights
• Determine requirements for returning to operational status
• Provide real-time assessments on airfields by recognized experts

In July 2010, IEM began work on the Airport Cooperative Research Program 4-10 to support airport-to-airport mutual aid programs (MAP).