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It is an acronym that stands for Southeast Airport Disaster Operating Group and ultimately it symbolizes a brotherhood of partnership between US airports across the country
Houston Airport System
July 13, 2007

It was designed to help airports cope with and recuperate from major disasters ranging from hurricanes to high winds.

SEADOG is the name most often associated with this initiative, but in reality it stands for Southeast Airport Disaster Operating Group (SEADOG).

The program surfaced in September 2004, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. This Category 3 hurricane slammed into Pensacola, Florida that same year and ravaged the Pensacola Regional Airport.

Fortunately for the city, the executive director of the main airport in nearby Savannah, Georgia, Patrick Graham, reached out to the airport by sending a team of his staff to get Pensacola Regional operating once again.

Roughly one year later, Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in Louisiana. Once again, Graham came to the rescue.

He contacted the Houston Airport System (HAS), asking for assistance for New Orleans.

The airport system immediately responded and was one of the first to join SEADOG in its assistance efforts. A convoy of airport resources, dozens of expert airport personnel, special machinery, vehicles and highly-specialized equipment were dispatched from Houston’s airports to New Orleans.

“We learned at that time how important it was to be able to have other airports available to assist no matter what the occasion, but certainly (during) a disaster like a hurricane that could shut down an airport,” says Robert White, division manager for the Houston Airport System’s operations services division. “The airport is very important in the recovery from this type of disaster in that disaster relief very often comes through the airport.”

As HAS workers were busy helping New Orleans, word came that Hurricane Rita was bearing down on Houston. The SEADOG program took on even more importance, as the sixth largest airport system in the world anticipated a direct hit.

SEADOG is a system that sets up a coordinated emergency response, including a procedure for participating airports to activate a call center up to 72-hours in advance of a possible disruption to operations.

© Houston Airport System
SEADOG will help those in need when their airports' have been affected by natural disasters. Houston has already proven a capable proponent of this partnership.

An audit of available resources is taken among the airports including identifying mobile communication centers and specific equipment needs. Response plans are calculated, so-called “Go Teams” of highly specialized airport personnel are assembled and a response timeframe is established for various emergency situations.

SEADOG is maturing and expanding as more airports in the Central and South Central regions of the United States join the group. Airports on the West Coast have formed a sister organization known as WESTDOG to perform the same disaster relief efforts in that region.

SEADOG has managed to transcend the fierce competitive spirit that engulfs the aviation industry, where airports fight for every passenger, airline and even aircraft.

White says the group is like a family.

“Yes we do compete, especially within a region, airports do compete quite heavily but, when something happens it’s like a member of the family that gets sick and you go to their assistance,” he adds.

But what does SEADOG actually mean for the average travelers who passes through the airport?

White sees it this way, “I think that there’s a certain expectation in the general public that somebody out there, they don’t know exactly who, but somebody out there does have a plan on how to be prepared, endure and recover from a disaster and I think what the public should see is that we are prepared to respond to disasters, and who best to get an airport up and operational other than airport people.”

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