“Access control into
airports and to general
aviation facilities
airports has been a
concern”
Hany Bakr, security director for Europe,
Middle East and Africa at international
SOS company MedAire
Below: Security
procedures can vary
considerably at different
executive airports
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Best practice for secure
operations in business aviation
The NBAA aims to help industry and regulators develop
guidelines appropriate for business aviation and
recommends to its members what is necessary to ensure
the best possible security.
Beyond specific needs, there are a range of best
practices the NBAA recommends for an operator’s home
base in an airport. They include:
• A full-time security manager
• Background checks of flight department personnel and
annual security training for staff
• A facility perimeter with gates and doors equipped with
access control
• Emergency numbers to be placed prominently around
a facility
• Passengers to be escorted in the hangar and on the ramp
and their identity confirmed with government issued
photo identification, and staff to remain alert for
troubled passengers
• Aircraft should be equipped with door, throttle and
propeller locks, use alarm systems and be kept within the
view of surveillance equipment
S E C U R I T Y
but there haven’t really been any
known studies conducted to
categorically confirm or deny
which…is more vulnerable than
others.” AOPA encourages
people to report vulnerabilities.
It has an Airport Watch program
which is about promoting a
strong security culture and
government and aviation community
vigilance to protect GA aircraft (see
box: AOPA’s Airport Watch Program).
The security apparatus used at airports
or terminals is fundamentally the same for
commercial and business aviation. In the UK, commercial
and business passengers are being “processed still to
exactly the same standards. But it’s done in a very fast
and efficient manner,” says British Business and General
Aviation Association (BBGA) FBO workgroup chair, Jason
Hayward – also the general manager for Universal Aviation
UK, a handling agent for corporate and executive aircraft
that operates worldwide.
Trade association the Airport Operators
Association (AOA), agrees. It states
that all airports have to implement
the UK government Department
for Transport’s policies on
security. However, the AOA
also sees differences
where business aviation is
concerned. The AOA says,
“To what extent among
business airport security
policies vary depends on a
range of factors.”
The organization cites aircraft
with exemptions due to their
use for private purposes as one
factor altering the security obligations
imposed on a business airport or FBO
compared to a commercial airport.
“Whether these policies need to be stronger is a matter
for the government, dependent on the latest threat picture,”
the AOA adds.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has
an operational safety audit (IOSA) program that evaluates
airline’s security management processes. Bakr believes
such a program could have its advantages if introduced to
business aviation.
“With numerous commercial security alliance groups
in place and the work of IATA Aviation Security, a modern,
proactive, collaborative and unified approach already exists
in order to serve the entire commercial aviation community,”
Bakr says.
JANUARY