TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 33: Overview of Airport Duties and Standards of Care in Airfield Accident Cases provides an overview of the legal duties and standards of care that may create liability when operating a public airfield. It discusses negligence principles and reviews duties and standards of care in an airfield accident context, including the...

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 32: Evolving Law on Airport Implications by Unmanned Aerial Systems provides guidance to enhance understanding of the basic legal and operational issues presented by civil unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and evaluates best practices for managing these issues. The digest covers background on UAS uses, applications, regulation...

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 31: Preemption of Worker-Retention and Labor-Peace Agreements at Airports serves as an overview of issues related to labor-harmony or labor-peace agreements for airport management personnel and other interested personnel, including airport authority board members or elected officials. These agreements generally require that...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 30: Contract Risk Management for Airport Agreements provides a general overview of the types of agreements that are typically used by airports of all sizes. It identifies primary risks associated with each type of agreement, and the appendices provide sample language from four organizations illustrating how they manage and ...

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 29: Impact of Firearms Laws on Airports analyzes recent court cases on federal and state laws that have been challenged for restricting or prohibiting the carrying of firearms in public and other places. The right to carry guns at airports is subject to the U.S. Constitution, federal and state legislation, and judicial deci...

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 28: Operational and Legal Issues with Fuel Farms provides guidance to assist airport sponsors and their legal counselors in understanding the basic legal and operational issues of fuel farms to provide the storage and dispensing of aviation fuels to multiple users at an airport. The report will assist airports with evaluati...

TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 27: The Fourth Amendment and Airports discusses the Fourth Amendment generally as it pertains to its application to people, houses, papers, and effects. The digest focuses on the application at airports and respective court decisions. It specifically discusses expectations of privacy at airports, airport administrative insp...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 26: Regulations Affecting the Exercise of First Amendment Activities at Airports provides an overview of the different First Amendment activities that occur at airports, the issues that generally affect them, and the legal challenges to airport policies, while laying out the history of case law.

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 25: Analysis of Federal Laws, Regulations, Case Law, and Survey of Existing Airport NPDES Permits Regarding Tenant-Operator Responsibilities Under NPDES and Stormwater Management BMPS Under Owner/Airport's Operating Permits clarifies responsibility for implementation and liability for enforcement of alleged violations of Na...

TRB’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Legal Research Digest 24: Sovereign Immunity for Public Airport Operations examines sovereign immunity as it applies to public airports that are owned and operated by units of local government or regional governmental authorities. This report summarizes the extent of sovereign immunity granted to airports from state to state. Appendix A provides...