Comparative Analysis of Airport Emergency Management Regulations of National and International Civil Aviation Authorities

The aviation sector, which races against time with complex operations, can face emergencies at any moment. Sudden disasters, epidemics, accidents, incidents, and unexpected developments involving passengers, coupled with increases in air traffic and passenger numbers, require the industry to be prepared for such situations in advance. Changing global conditions necessitate dealing with unexpected and unforeseen situations. ICAO establishes a framework for emergency management through Annex 14, Annex 19, and related documents published for all these situations. However, although countries use these basic documents as a guide, they may introduce some differences for emergencies that arise or may arise in their own countries.In this study, the regulations of the civil aviation authorities of the USA, Europe, Türkiye, Canada, Japan, Australia, and South Korea regarding emergencies were examined and compared using document analysis, a qualitative research method. The aim is comparatively examine how national civil aviation authorities operationalize airport emergency management regulations within a common ICAO framework. The main research question is how these regulatory frameworks differ across countries despite being based on the same international standards. The findings revealed that although ICAO standards form a universal basis, national practices differ significantly in line with geographical risks and institutional structures. For example, the United States focuses on command unity, Europe on system integration, and Türkiye on inter-agency coordination. These differences demonstrate that airport emergency management is shaped by national risk perceptions. Consequently, it is suggested that modern regulations should evolve into more flexible, proactive, and continuously developing systems, potentially supported by emerging technologies.