Ensuring Safety: Our Top Priority

Relentlessly Navigating
the Non-Negotiables

At John Wayne Airport, safety and security are always
paramount. They guide every decision we make for our
guests, aviation partners, tenants, employees and volunteers.
Whether travelers are parking, clearing security, boarding a
flight or passing time in our terminals, we go to great lengths
to ensure their safety, security and peace of mind, with as
little disruption as possible.

2024 SNAPSHOT

01 Began implementation of $700 million Capital Improvement Program

Progress is happening at John Wayne
Airport! In 2024, we embarked on our
multi-year journey to modernize, upgrade
and keep our facilities in excellent
operating condition for years to come.

02 Elevated firefighting
excellence

We received, completed user acceptance
testing, and put into service the first
Oshkosh Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting
(ARFF) vehicle at JWA with Flourine-Free
Foam (F3) instead of Per- and
Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) foam.

DID YOU KNOW?

Airport Operations,
OCFA ARFF, and
OCSD APS responded
to 16 aircraft
emergencies and
recovered 21 disabled
aircraft.

03 Established the first JWA Safety
Recognition Award Program

We created this program to support safety
awareness and recognize employees and
teams who demonstrate exemplary actions
that advance JWA’s safety goals. The
Airport Director honored two employees
with this award at the Airport’s quarterly
all-staff meetings.

04 Prepared for the
unexpected

We designed, planned, coordinated, and
executed six emergency preparedness and
security response drills and exercises which
included over 300 first responders, mutual
aid responders, and support responders.

05 Enabled mechanisms for
faster reporting

We launched the first JWA Aviation
Worker Hazard Reporting System
(Aerosimple) available to all Airport,
County, airline, tenant, contractor, agency,
and other Airport business partner employees.

06 Conducted essential
safety training

We trained 2,449 JWA and business partner
employees in airport security and airfield
driver responsibilities. The OCFA ARFF
also conducted in-class Fuel Handler Safety
Training for 29 personnel.

DID YOU KNOW?

Airport Operations,
OCFA ARFF, and OCSD
APS responded to 16
aircraft emergencies and
recovered 21 disabled
aircraft.

DID YOU KNOW?

Four times a year, JWA removes rubber buildup from
300,000 square feet of runway surface to maintain
touchdown friction for safer landings.

Four times a year, JWA
removes rubber
buildup from 300,000
square feet of runway
surface to maintain
touchdown friction for
safer landings.

ON THE HORIZON IN 2025

01 We’ll stay vigilant on
safety training

We’ll design, plan, coordinate and execute
Unified Incident Command Post (UCP) drills, an Airport Emergency Plan Table
Top Exercise, an Airport Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Functional
Exercise, an Aviation Security (AVSEC) Table Top Exercise, an Active Shooter/
Force Protection full-scale exercise, and an Airport Evacuation Team drill.

02 We’ll speed and simplify
identity management

We’ll transition our Airport Identity
Management System (IDMS) to more
efficiently badge all aviation and Airport
employees.

03 We’ll improve hazard
reporting

We’ll expand our Hazard
Reporting System (Aerosimple) by
establishing a public-facing link for
travelers to report hazards.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Airport reported
zero injuries in 2024.