DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON
Global action on aviation security resulting from research carried out in the wake of the 11 September attacks will be announced this week at the International Civil Aviation Organisation's high level ministerial conference on aviation security.
The most vital project to be launched at the 18-19 February meeting in Montreal, Canada, will be ICAO's universal security audit programme (USAP), which should become operational on 1 January 2002, says European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) executive secretary Raymond Benjamin.
The ECAC delegation, headed by president Alfredo Roma, will be presenting a "unified European position which is in full agreement with that of the USA", says Benjamin. Highlighting the unprecedented priority given to global aviation security, the transport ministers of almost every European state - the UK is only sending civil servants - will be among 136 states represented. Ministerial presence is seen as vital because a major objective will be raising the $15 million necessary to establish the USAP.
If the programme is to be launched within 10 months, Benjamin points out, ICAO has to move rapidly to recruit the necessary expertise, and develop and implement a system for certificating the inspectors for multi-national audit teams.
On-board security programmes will also be agreed, including training programmes for flight deck and cabin crew in the event of hijack, and criteria for protecting cockpits from unauthorised entry or attack. The USA wants ICAO Annex 6, the standards for aircraft certification, to be amended to reflect the latter. Methods for protecting air-ground communications will also be finalised.
Providing practical assistance needed by third world countries to increase their security standards is crucial if effective aviation security is to be global, adds Benjamin.
Source: Flight International
