Security Response
Inspector General's message is clear: Airports, FAA need to continue upgrading their efforts
BY Chris Tebo, Director, AAAE & Bonnie Wilson, Senior Director, ACI-NA
May 1999
On March 10, 1999, the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General (DOT-IG) and the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Civil Aviation Security appeared before the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation in a closed hearing and offered testimony on airport access control systems. The testimony centered on a recent series of audits conducted by the DOT-IG to determine if the access control mechanisms and procedures in place at airports are adequate and that FAA Special Agents were able to ensure compliance with federal security regulations.
Specific details of the audits are controlled for security purposes, but the general message was clear: The aviation security system needs to be refined. The technology we have in place has been proven effective at preventing access to the secure area of the airports. Now we need to make sure that our employee training and compliance assurance programs enhance the technology in place.
Airport security is everybody's business. ACI-NA and AAAE members are making concerted efforts to ensure that this message is made clear to each and every person issued a badge and granted unescorted access to the airport's security areas. Procedures are currently in place that continually test the access control systems at airports and challenge employees responsible for maintaining a secure environment. When we received information of a potential problem with security procedures, airports, airlines, and FAA worked together to immediately inform appropriate individuals. Airports convened their existing Airport Security Consortia to take a look at local procedures and examine ways to enhance them.
While FAA is officially responsible for ensuring that individuals comply with federal requirements, it is not reasonable or practical to assume that their efforts alone can accomplish the mission of protecting the aviation system.
We expect the regulators to provide us with information on compliance on a regular basis. Only then can airports hope to be completely successful in efforts to continually improve their security programs. When we receive information from other sources that shows we may have room to improve, we look to FAA to see how they, too, can improve their oversight and reporting on compliance. Without this type of regular reporting on active security programs, it is difficult for airports to determine what specific elements of their complex security programs may need to be amended or reinforced.
FAA's response so far has been to develop plans to add redundant elements to existing airport security programs and to increase enforcement through aggressive compliance testing. These measures may heighten security awareness in the short term, but we are not convinced that a one-size-fits-all solution is the answer.
We have had extensive industry and government briefings on the results of the compliance audits and have taken immediate actions to enhance existing programs as they pertain to the concerns presented by the Office of the Inspector General. Airports will make a concerted effort to continue to meet with the FAA both locally and nationally, on a regular basis to continue these discussions and to identify any areas of the airport environment that need additional enhanced focus.
Ongoing Self-Examination
Restricting access to the air operations area of the airport and access
to the aircraft remains the number one goal of all airport security programs.
There is no tolerance for complacency in following the rules. We are constantly
shifting the focus of our enforcement efforts in a random pattern to various
access points and different areas of the airport to remind employees of
the rules and to make sure they are not violated by anyone. As we examine
information from our own enforcement efforts we amend our security plans
accordingly. The results of the Inspector General's audit provided specific
information about particular facilities, but the message is clear: We
all need to examine our facilities to ensure our programs are working.
As part of an ongoing effort to work within and beyond the specific regulatory requirements, airports have instituted a variety of programs to address security compliance on a local level. Airport security consortia meet on a regular basis to review elements of the individual airport security program, assess the effectiveness of the technologies and policies in place, and share information.
Employees are an essential element of our security programs. Every individual who requests unescorted access privileges at an airport also accepts the responsibility to ensure that the airport security program is not violated. Encouraging participation can be as effective as penalizing for non-compliance.
Many airports currently have programs that actively reward employees who "challenge" persons in the secure area of the airport. For example, individuals failing to display an airport-approved ID badge should be challenged. Just as a "secret shopper" program can test elements of retail customer service, airports employ "Bogus Bobs" to roam the secure areas of the airport and reward employees who prevent them from breaching security controls.
The industry has also been working with employees and with FAA to develop stronger programs to address the accountability of those individuals who have accepted the responsibility to assist in assuring compliance. Some airports have been successful in garnering local authority to penalize individuals for non-compliance with airport security programs. These programs range from a civil penalty or fine to temporary or permanent removal of an individual's access media.
We have been working with FAA to address the issue of individual accountability since the inception of the federal security requirements for access control. We are continuing to work on an individual accountability program with FAA and will implement it as soon as possible.
The end result of these cooperative efforts will be a more secure environment.
