Political attention to aviation security has reached an obsessive point where spending has jumped even at a time when budgets are strained, panellists said at yesterday's World Route Development Strategy Summit.
"It is absolutely unacceptable to die on an aircraft, but it's perfectly OK in most countries to die outside of aviation," said Charles Schlumberger, lead air transport specialist at the World Bank. "How far do we go down this road? Where does the spending end?"
The USA allocates $7 billion to aviation security. "But they are bankrupt, and are cutting everything - except security - and everyone agrees," Schlumberger said.
"Political attention to aviation security causes a loss of focus," said Jim Marriot, ICAO's chief, aviation security.
"We don't always need a supercomputer to connect the dots [to catch a terrorist act]," he added. "Many times, it's the human element that connects the dots."
A lot has been done to harmonise security efforts worldwide, and air transportation remains very safe, said Mohamed Elamiri, ICAO deputy director of safety.
With 120 annual airline accidents, only 20 are fatal. "We know where the problems are," he said.
Germany's largest employer is not Mercedes or Volkswagen but Frankfurt airport, with 80,000 workers including a vast security web, said German Airports Association chief executive Ralph Beisel. "Security is an industry now."
Source: Flight Daily News
