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News
IATA, US Agree On Aviation Security Cooperation
Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) hosted an historic aviation security summit with
the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). IATA Director General and CEO
Giovanni Bisignani and DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano spearheaded a new era of
industry/government cooperation to improve aviation security around the world.
“The aviation industry is committed to keeping the global skies safe and secure. We live in a global world with
global connectivity and global threats. The challenge is to protect the benefits
of aviation connectivity and eliminate the threats. Governments and industry
have the same goals but different expertise. Governments understand the threats
and the tools needed to mitigate them. Industry has the operational expertise
for effective implementation. Working together is the only way forward,” said
Bisignani.
The summit was held at IATA’s headquarters in Geneva and included the Secretary General of the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), top executives from 25 airlines as well as
participants from the US Government.
Bisignani commended the fresh approach of the Obama administration to proactively engage industry. “We
applaud Secretary Napolitano’s commitment to engage industry and find workable
and effective solutions. A single meeting cannot solve all the security
challenges we face but it is a major step in the right direction. We had a lot
to teach each other and today is the start of a regular high-level dialogue on
this critical issue. This cooperation should become a model for other countries
to adopt,” Bisignani said. IATA and DHS agreed to hold a follow-up meeting in
the coming weeks.
During the meeting, IATA and its member airlines made several recommendations including:
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Institutionalizing government/industry cooperation: This would allow security
policies to be written with the benefit of airline operational expertise. IATA
encouraged ICAO to create a template for such cooperation to be implemented
globally.
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Implementation: Recognize that prescriptive, one-size-fits-all regulations with numerical targets will not
secure a complex global industry. Governments must work with industry to define
practical implementation measures for their security targets.
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Passenger data collection: Make passenger data collection and sharing more efficient: IATA urged DHS to break down
internal silos to create a single data collection and sharing program that could
serve as a model for implementation by other governments.
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Harmonization across borders: Governments must talk to each other to ensure that one country’s requirements do not conflict
with another country’s laws.
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Next generation checkpoint: Along with optimizing the capabilities of current screening technology, we must begin to look
at future checkpoints that combine technology and intelligence. “We need a
checkpoint system that focuses on finding bad people, not just bad objects,”
said Bisignani.
View Giovanni Bisignani's remarks
- IATA -
For more information, please contact:
Anthony Concil
Director Corporate Communications
Tel: +41 22 770 2967
Email: corpcomms@iata.org
Notes for Editors:
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IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 230 airlines comprising 93% of
scheduled international air traffic.
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