The Federal Aviation Administration has launched a national questionnaire on airport ramp worker safety. The aviation community has until July 3, 2026, to respond. The ramp worker safety survey fulfills a statutory mandate under Section 353 of Public Law 118-63. That provision directed the FAA to evaluate the hazards ground workers face every day.
The survey covers engine ingestion areas and jet blast zones—two of the most dangerous environments on any ramp. It also addresses FOD on ramp surfaces, safety training, operational guidance, and technologies used to prevent worker injuries.
What the FAA Ramp Worker Safety Survey Covers
The Federal Register notice published Feb. 20, 2026, outlines the survey’s scope and purpose. The FAA will use the data to evaluate existing guidance, training, and safety technologies across the ground-handling industry. The stated goal is to identify contributing risk factors and develop recommendations that could update safety standards nationwide.
Section 353 specifically requires the FAA to address hazards in ingestion zones and jet blast areas. The agency must also identify ways to minimize or eliminate accidents there. The questionnaire is the primary data-collection tool—gathering that information directly from frontline workers.
The FAA issued Notice 8900.749 to establish internal procedures for the data collection. Two Federal Register notices—Sept. 26, 2025, and Feb. 20, 2026—then satisfied Paperwork Reduction Act requirements before OMB approval.
Who Should Respond
The FAA is encouraging broad participation from across the industry. Target respondents include:
- Frontline ramp personnel and ground service workers
- FBO staff — line service, fueling, and maintenance support
- Airlines, airport operators, and airport authorities
- Ground support equipment manufacturers
- Labor organizations and aviation safety professionals
The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) worked with the FAA during the reauthorization process. NATA has since urged members to participate and share operational experience and best practices.
How to Submit
The federal government hosts the questionnaire on its Touchpoints platform. It is open to anyone in the aviation industry. Respondents can access the FAA ramp worker safety survey at touchpoints.app.cloud.gov. Participation is voluntary.
Direct questions to the FAA Office of Airports. NATA has also published a contact email for the FAA program lead in its member notice.
Why Ramp FOD Is Directly in Scope
Ramp worker injuries and fatalities have remained a persistent concern in commercial and general aviation. However, federal agencies have historically tracked ground-worker safety data in silos, leaving the overall picture fragmented. The Section 353 initiative aims to close that gap.
For the FOD-prevention community, the survey’s scope is directly relevant. Ramp debris—tools, hardware, loose pavement, and equipment parts—is a documented pathway to engine ingestion incidents. The questionnaire’s explicit focus on ingestion-area hazards therefore makes ramp FOD control a core subject, not a peripheral one.
The FAA intends to use the findings to update federal guidance, training requirements, and safety-technology standards for ground handling. Statutory mandates that draw directly from worker input to inform federal rulemaking are rare. This is one of them.
Deadline: July 3, 2026
The questionnaire closes July 3, 2026. Aviation professionals can put ramp FOD hazards, jet blast risks, and ingestion-zone concerns directly on the federal record. The agency writing the next generation of ramp-safety guidance is gathering input now.
FODNews will continue to cover federal ramp safety policy and FOD-prevention initiatives as the July 3 deadline approaches.
Sources
- Federal Register: Section 353 Survey To Evaluate Airport Ramp Worker Safety (Feb. 20, 2026)
- GovInfo: FAA Section 353 Survey — Federal Register Notice (Sept. 26, 2025)
- FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, Public Law 118-63
- NATA: FAA Seeks Industry Input on Ramp Worker Safety
- FAA Ramp Worker Safety Questionnaire (Touchpoints platform)
