IATA calls for harmonising security laws

New Delhi: With heightened terror threat on civil aviation the world over, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has asked governments to harmonise security laws and procedures, upgrade screening technologies and share passenger data to identify those wanted.
The appeal by IATA chief Giovanni Bisignani came after a conference attended by US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary Janet Napolitano, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) secretary general Roberto Gonzalez and top executives from 25 airlines and US government officials.
The meeting came on a day when high security alert was issued to all Indian airports and airlines, including Air India, following intelligence inputs that Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba and Al-Qaeda terrorists were plotting to hijack an Indian plane in the region.
In line with the IATA appeal, India and the US recently set up a joint working group of officials of the Transportation Security Administration and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security to standardise security procedures, including laying down parameters for deployment of sky marshals on flights between the two countries and transfer of security-related technology.
At the conference in Geneva on Friday, IATA and the airlines made several recommendations, including institutionalising government and industry cooperation on security matters. This would allow security policies to be written with the benefit of airlines’ operational expertise. IATA also urged the ICAO to create a template for such cooperation to be implemented globally, a spokesperson for the global airlines body said.
24/01/10 PTI/Economic Times

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Categories: Airports Jan 2010, Foreign Jan 2010, Safety Jan 2010