ACI World promotes ‘next generation’ security

ACI World actively supports initiatives to promote ‘next generation’ security screening and checkpoint measures, as confirmed by ACI World Director Security and Facilitation Craig Bradbrook speaking at the International Aviation Security Conference in Hong Kong last week.

Bradbrook confirms that ACI World is aligned with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s plan to develop and validate next generation security concepts. He makes the case for a new approach to passenger security screening and outlined a conceptual solution that arguably addresses the risks more effectively through improved threat identification and assessment with, at the same time, better coordination amongst the various stakeholders to achieve process optimization.

He also re-states ACI’s position on the importance of a secure supply chain approach to enhance cargo security and rejects as impracticable the 100% screening of cargo at airports as a solution. “Airports typically serve as landlord, leasing the cargo facilities to airlines and freight forwarders who bear the responsibility for cargo security. The security of cargo should therefore be established when it enters the supply chain and then maintained through a chain of secure custody.”

Highlighting the need for rethinking the components of next generation security, Bradbrook says, “Aviation must keep pace with changing threats and attacks on civil aviation, be that passenger or cargo. We can question whether today’s approach effectively meets current and future threats and also whether it is sustainable in the long term, in light of ever more stringent measures and rapidly growing passenger numbers, forecast to double by 2029. We are advocating a new approach based on passenger differentiation according to the passenger’s risk profile and use of an improved screening process applied to the small percentage of passengers that are deemed to be higher risk.”

ACI calls for greater involvement by government and control authorities in identifying risk profiles through intelligence introduced upstream in the security value chain. Bradbrook observes: “These authorities are in a position to bring together data from various points into the risk profile that empowers airport screeners to select passengers for ‘normal’ or ‘enhanced’ screening. By concentrating the resources and advanced technology on this smaller number of passengers, and by varying usage at airports to maintain a surprise factor, we could significantly improve the security outcome.”

Bradbrook concludes, “This next generation approach should be developed as an alternative to the conventional approaches in use today. We recognize that there cannot be a ‘one size fits all airports’ solution, so these approaches would need to be adapted to fit local requirements and resources. We also see this work as complementing existing initiatives to enhance aviation security, notably ICAO’s strategy to improve security through better collaboration with regional stakeholders and industry – and we will continue to support these initiatives.”