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Brussels Diamond Heist: an important reminder to all airports

18 Apr 2013

In February, we were all shocked to learn of the heist at Brussels Airport, in which an armed gang breached the perimeter fence and stole an estimated $50 million in diamonds from a Zurich-bound Helvetic Airways plane. Thankfully no one was hurt, but the longer term damage to the reputation of the airport remains to [...]

Aviation Security Is No Joke

18 Apr 2013

But is the industry’s IT security not being taken seriously enough? It’s 4a.m Sunday morning and the telephone rings. My wife answers and duly informs me that she has a drunk on the line. Three similar calls are received within the space of ten minutes. Eventually we establish that the mysterious caller is the Alarm [...]

Stowaways and Airport Perimeter Security

18 Apr 2013

Desperate acts by desperate people reveal real vulnerabilities The act of stowing away in the landing gear compartment of a large passenger aircraft is highly dangerous; not only for the stowaway, but also for the aviation industry. Andrew Gilbey reviews some recent reports of stowaways and their implications for the aviation industry, followed by a [...]

Secure Identities: secure aviation

18 Apr 2013

Governments are moving towards an intelligence-driven, risk-based approach to aviation security, replacing the one size fits all approach.  In order to normalise this approach for the majority of passengers, their data has to be verifiable, accurate and secure.  Matthew Finn outlines some of the security measures in place to protect travel documents. At the 21st [...]

The e-AWB Revolution: the benefits for air cargo security

18 Apr 2013

IATA defines e-cargo as the set of all processes and electronic messages that support a fully paperless air cargo supply chain. Whilst e-freight focuses on commercial and transport documents, the scope of e-cargo is broader and includes particular security and safety related processes and documents. The air waybill (AWB) is the contract of carriage between [...]

Chemical, Biological & Radiological Threats to Aviation: what are we up against?

18 Apr 2013

Security has been a critical issue for civil aviation for decades; airports and aircraft have proved to be susceptible targets for terrorist attacks and incidents still occur despite the strict security measures in place. Since the end of the Cold War new threats have also emerged, including the risk of terrorists using Chemical, Biological, Radiological [...]

The Changing Policy on Knives: an APFA position paper

18 Apr 2013

The attacks of 11 September 2001 changed the commercial aviation industry, and the flight attendant profession in particular, dramatically and forever. The protocols and security measures that were instituted after those tragic events had one single intention: to keep us all safe. On 5 March 2013, Administrator John Pistole of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) [...]

Aircrew Mental Health

27 Feb 2013

by Anna Costin Many a Hollywood movie has depicted scenes of aircraft that continue to fly on auto-pilot when their flight deck crews have been incapacitated due to an act of terrorism or aggression onboard, often leaving it to an heroic flight attendant or passenger to land the plane. Films such as ‘Airplane’ and ‘Turbulence’ [...]

Effective Surveillance

27 Feb 2013

by Mark Medwecki In May 2009, the Guardian newspaper (in the UK) featured an article quoting research that concluded that the impact of CCTV on overall crime is “modest” but that it is effective in reducing vehicle crime in car parks. The previous year the Association of Chief Police Officers determined that CCTV was effective [...]

Antagonistic Passengers

27 Feb 2013

by Simon Wells Over ten years ago I was taught how to be a crisis negotiator. The image most people have of negotiators is of them dealing with terrorists or criminals trapped in a bank. However, the vast majority of people who encounter one, in London at least, are those who wish to commit suicide. [...]

 

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