A new safety system is in place to help prevent runway incursions at the City of San Diego’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. In collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the airport recently launched this new system to avoid situations where an aircraft enters a controlled area, such as a runway or taxiway, at the wrong time, creating the potential for a collision. 

Runway incursions often occur due to a lack of situational awareness, miscommunication or deviations from established procedures at an airport. 

 Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport began meeting with the FAA’s contractor Saab, Inc. in April 2025 about its Surface Awareness Initiative (SAI) program. In July, the system officially became operational at the airport, making it the first general aviation airport in the country to launch Saab’s Aerobahn Runway and Surface Safety service. 

 “The safety of our traveling public, employees and the surrounding communities is the airport’s utmost priority,” said Economic Development Deputy Director and Chief of Airports Jorge Rubio, A.A.E. “We are excited to be utilizing this new technology that not only provides air traffic controllers with real-time information to reduce potential runway incidents, but also improves the efficiency of our airport operations.” 

SAI provides air traffic controllers with additional situational awareness in all weather conditions by precisely tracking aircraft using GPS and sensors and displaying their runway and taxiway locations on a screen in the tower.  

“The FAA’s SAI program is a major step forward in improving U.S. runway safety,” said Sarah Schoof, Vice President of Surveillance Systems at Saab, Inc. “We are pleased to see Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport take such rapid and effective action to support the deployment of Saab’s Aerobahn Runway and Surface Safety service, improving the safety of airport operations and providing air traffic controllers access to modern tools designed to help manage surface safety.”  

The system, installation and maintenance are funded by the FAA as part of its Surface Safety Portfolio, which includes other tools that all aim to improve safety at U.S. airports. 

Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport is the busiest general aviation airport in California. In the past year, more than 386,000 planes have taken off and landed at the airport.