Aviation security

Aviation is a major sector of the UK economy and contributes around £1.5 billion of direct economic value to it. Each year, around 220 million passengers fly nearly 2 billion kilometres in UK-regulated airspace with a total of 2 million flights a year. It is a complex and diverse industry that includes:

• 200 aircraft operators and 80 balloon operators
• 16,600 aircraft
• 51,000 pilots
• 12,000 maintenance engineers
• 2,400 air traffic controllers
• 145 aerodromes
• 1,800 tour operators selling holidays to 28 million people.

The UK aviation safety record is three times better than the world average – the best in Europe – and 400 per cent better than it was in the mid-1970s. Over the same period, fatalities have fallen by 98 per cent.

There are more than 50 passenger-carrying airlines in the UK, with 200,000 people employed in air transport jobs and a further 600,000 in aviation-related employment. This figure is set to rise as more and more people and greater quantities of freight move by air, despite reaction to 9/11 and other more recent alerts. Indeed, while some large carriers have experienced difficulties, budget airline operations have increased with aggressive marketing and efficient route strategies. Around 3 million tones of cargo and well over £100 billion worth of trade passes through Britain’s airports every year.

Around 150 million passengers used the British Airports Authority’s (BAA’s) seven UK airports, two-thirds of the UK’s total, with nearly half of them travelling through Heathrow. Low-cost carriers account for over 20 per cent of all flights from these airports, with Stansted’s passenger numbers growing from around 1 million in 1991 to 22 million today. BAA directly employs around 12,000 staff, 9,000 of them at UK airports.

Annex 17 of the Chicago Convention, to which the UK is a signatory, is the internationally agreed document dealing with aviation security. The UK is also a very prominent member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), with its recommendations incorporated in national regulations. Regulation (EC) No 2320/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishes common rules in the field of civil aviation security.

Aviation security staff deal with air rage, drunkenness, assault, smuggling and crime, as well as the threat of international terrorism – highlighted since the events of 9/11. Other security concerns include stowaways, espionage, human trafficking, illegal immigration, theft, sabotage, hijack and environmental protest. Heightened security, including the deployment of sky marshals, continues to make headlines.

The threat posed by knives and other relatively unsophisticated weapons surprised some people, and has most certainly increased the number of potentially lethal items being impounded at airports. Other methods suggested to tighten security that have been implemented in some cases include passenger profiling, intensive security staff screening and training, personal and baggage searches, and military and police deployments. The dangers of missile attack have seldom been discussed publicly although thousands of such weapons have been found in Afghanistan.

The primary objective of aviation security is ‘to safeguard passengers, crew, ground personnel and the general public against acts of unlawful interference perpetrated in flight or within the confines of an airport. Aviation security also seeks to protect aircraft and facilities serving civil aviation, such as fuel, catering, air navigation facilities and the premises of listed cargo agents against acts of unlawful interference.’ Aviation security officers are employed to ‘prevent unlawful interference against civil aviation’. In practice this breaks down into two broad responsibilities: to detect unauthorised weapons, explosives and incendiary materials; to prevent these being carried onboard an aircraft or into a restricted zone.

As well as key attributes for any security officer, the most significant difference between domestic security and aviation security is the use of technologies that support the underpinning knowledge, like X-ray machines, explosives-detection techniques, image capture capabilities, biometrics and a host of others.

An airport will have a security group in place that includes representatives from the police, Special Branch, Customs & Excise, Immigration, the Department for Transport (DfT) Aviation Security Inspectors and the aviation industry. It will agree processes to identify security and criminal risks, and the roles and responsibilities of the different agencies. The security plan will be jointly owned and routinely revisited to take into account future developments. All cargo must be screened to ensure that it does not carry prohibited articles. This process involves a number of techniques, which must be carried out by an independent validator.

Aviation security in the Services

The Royal Air Force specialises in passenger and cargo aviation, and the accompanying rigorous security. Most Service people spend a great deal of their lives thinking about, planning and implementing security in a variety of environments, and so have a great deal of experience in this field. Part of basic and more advanced training in some parts of the Forces is the accumulation of units leading to National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications in Security.

The personal qualities for which people are selected and which are then developed during military training are also highly relevant, and most Service people will possess many of the skills that security employers look for. They should be physically fit and able to patrol an area, taking note of what they see and writing a report. The ability to work in a team is critical, as are common sense, integrity and courage. They should be able to react to the unexpected, as well as being self-reliant and self-confident.

Training

Aviation security training is generally divided into a number of levels. All students should be subject to criminal record and counter-terrorist checks. The Department for Transport authorises security instructors through a number of courses, with training aids/videos/DVDs available to authorised training providers. Details are published on the Department for Transport website. Although precise details of programmes vary between different training providers, these levels and the course content are generally as described in the following paragraphs.

Level 1 Security Screeners should receive a detailed programme covering all aspects of the security screening process and access control as required by national and regional specifications. Course duration would be around 15 working days and usually hosted on-site with access to the relevant screening equipment. The course would be taken by screeners and supervisors, and should cover such subjects as:

·the threat, countermeasures and security programmes

·physical screening of passengers and use of metal detectors

·explosive devices, detonators, firearms, ammunition, improvised pistols and bladed weapons

• X-ray theory, image recognition and operator interfaces
• health & safety, CCTV operation, radio equipment and secure procedures
• cabin baggage, search theory, prohibited items and confiscation procedures
• dangerous goods and international requirements, boarding cards and tickets
• passenger screening, body language, special needs and unattended bags
• security awareness and dealing with incidents
• access control principles and systems
• vehicle search, surveillance equipment and night vision
• report writing.

Level 2 Security Supervisors supervise the screening and access control operation. They must first qualify at Level 1. The course should last two to three days and cover:

• roles and responsibilities
• metal detectors and X-ray equipment performance and testing
• customer objections and conflict avoidance
• reporting procedures and requirements
• emergency procedures
• cabin baggage systems and management.

The Level 3 Managers Course should be a one-week in-depth programme covering many aspects of aviation security management, including:

• threats to civil aviation and countermeasure philosophy
• role of police and explosive ordnance device teams
• weapons and explosives recognition
• physical screening techniques, technology and hold baggage screening
• hijack management, crew response, perimeter protection and intruder detection
• national and regional programmes, contingency planning, airline security programmes.

Level 4 Security Awareness is a four-hour programme including:

• the threat
• your part in securing the airport
• pass system and audit procedures
• dealing with security situations.
• evacuation procedures.

Level 5 Senior Managers is another four-hour programme covering:

• threat review and current update
• organisation of countermeasures, national and regional responsibilities
• review of regional programmes and training courses
• evacuation procedures and role of explosive ordnance device teams.

Level 6 Hold Baggage Screening Operators will probably take five to seven days for people already qualified at Level 1, and ten days for complete novices. The programme will depend on the screening equipment in use, previous training and levels of X-ray experience.

Level 7 Security Instructor courses should be tailored to enable instructors to work with training managers to establish their own training programmes. Instructors should have attended all levels of training.

Other training should include emergency procedures and annual refresher courses.

Employment

Most airports have their own recruitment systems, and applications should be made directly to the relevant airport or security organisation. Pay scales range from £14,000 to £30,000 per annum, depending on line management responsibility. Promotion is usually through internal progression, but there are exceptions to this rule. Roster or shift patterns depend on passenger throughput and type of airline.