See all of GenevaLunch’s articles on the annual airline industry Iata meeting in Geneva 15 December
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The ban on liquids carried onto airplanes could end, but probably not sooner than in two years, says Ken Dunlap, director of security for North America at Iata (International Air Transport Association). Dunlap was talking to journalists in Geneva about industry security plans to return passengers to the more relaxed situation that existed before 2006.
A 2006 terrorist plot targeted 10 international flights, and “the impact on passengers was quick and dramatic,” says Dunlap. “But I don’t think anybody at the time thought these temporary measures would become permanent.”
The key is getting x-ray machines to the point where they will detect liquid explosives.
“Let me be clear: we will not compromise on security,” Dunlap says. “We have several hurdles to jump before we see the lifting of the ban on liquids.” The next generation of highly sophisticated x-ray machines could be ready in 12-24 months, but they are not ready today, he insists, and the industry is firm that it wants to see a coordinated ban removal. Such machines are costly, he told GenevaLunch, and will be used mainly in high density or high-risk areas.
“We have overall passenger confusion today. We can’t afford another round of chaos,” he argues. “Lifting these bans airport by airport, as Europe will probably do, is bound to cause confusion and chaos for our passengers. If that happens, we will need to work very hard to manage expectations and inform passengers of where they can or cannot fly with liquids.”
Iata wants to propose a set of guidelines that restore confidence. A one-bin per passenger rule for laptops and all liquids plus gels would be a key feature. A passenger should be screened only once during a trip, something France has begun to do. And airports will need to accept screening done elsewhere, for example at an airport in the same region, with the same level and type of security risks. Such moves will require greater coordination among airports and airlines.
“This is the most secure we’ve been in airline history,” Dunlap says, “But it’s taking far too long to bring technology from the research laboratory to the airport, and it’s costing too much money.” A group of countries responsible for the bulk of airline traffic have created a task force that has been working towards a common set of standards to create global security solutions and reduce insistence by regulators on national or even local standards.
The changes will nevertheless be based on lessons learned from 2006, Dunlap says: “The liquid threat is real.” But the threat may not be equal everywhere, and changes must take this into account.
“We’d like to bring some sense back.”
[…] Iata’s North American security director, Ken Dunlap, told journalists at the organization’s annual media day in December 2009 – before the Christmas Day bomb attempt – that body scans are very costly and the technology is still imperfect. He and other Iata officials have argued for better coordination among international airports as one of the keys to safety, rather than national “silo solutions.” […]