PIA TRAINING CENTRE

Dec 2012 OPERATIONS TECH UNIT

ROLE OF ICAO, IATA AND ACI IN

AVIATION SECURITY (AVSEC)

Prepared By: Muhammad Aslam Butt,

Security Officer (Retd)
Security Instructor,
PIA Training Center, KHI.

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List If Content

1. Aviation Security (AVSEC) Global Structure

2. Roles of ICAO, IATA and Airport Council International (ACI) in AVSEC

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1.0 ROLE OF ICAO, IATA AND ACI IN AVSEC

1.1 AVSEC Global Structure

1.1.1 ICAO – The Regulatory Agency

ICAO has its origins in the Convention on International Civil Aviation (also known as the
Chicago Convention), which was signed in that city on December 7, 1944, by 52
countries. Pending ratification of the Convention by at least 26 member states, the
Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO) was established. It
functioned from June 6, 1945 until April 4, 1947. On March 5, 1947 the 26 th ratification
was received and ICAO came into being on April 4, 1947. In October of the same year,
IACO became a specialized agency of the United Nations linked to the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC).

Organizational Structure

To regulate aviation security globally amongst its 190 member states, the ICAO
Assembly consists of the Secretary General and his team (Secretariat) as well as the
Council President and members. Let’s begin by looking at how the Secretary General
and his team are organized.

The Secretary General heads the ICAO and the Secretariat which is organized into five
departments or bureaus:

• Administration

• Air Navigation

• Air Transport

• Legal

• Technical Cooperation

Within the Air Transport Bureau (ATB) is Security & Facilitation and the Aviation
Security Audit Unit. The Aviation Security Section, including the AVSEC Mechanism,
functions under Security & Facilitation.

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We will now look at the Council President and its 36 members. The Council is the
operational team of ICAO. It is actively involved in managing a variety of global
operational issues related to aviation security.

To support the Council President and members, there are seven specialized
committees. These are:

• Air Navigation

• Air Transport

• Unlawful Interference

• Finance

• Joint Support

• Legal

• Technical Cooperation

The functions of some of these committees mirror those of the Bureaus but operate at
different levels. The Bureaus handle matters at the State level while the Committees
work at Airport. Both groups maintain close links with each other.

Under the Committee on Unlawful Interference are two specialized units: the
International Explosives Technical Commission and an ad-hoc group of specialists on
the Detection of Explosives.

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1.1.2 IATA – Association of Airlines

IATA is an association of air carriers. It is an international trade body that was first
established in 1945 in Havana, Cuba, by a founding group of airlines. Today, IATA
represents some 320 airlines comprising 93% of the scheduled international air traffic.
The organization’s function is to represent, lead and serve the airline industry.

IATA is headed by the Director General (DG) and Chief Executive Officer. The DG is
supported by a team that is organized into the following functional areas:

• Human Capital

• Environment

• Communications

• Chief Economist

• Legal Services

and five major divisions as follows:

• Corporate Services

• Industry Distribution and Financial Services

• Marketing and Commercial Services

• Member & Government Relations & Corporate Secretary

• Safety, Operations and Infrastructure

Over the years, IATA has widened its focus, which today can be categorized as follows:

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• Safety & security: to promote safe, reliable and secure air services

• Industry recognition: to achieve recognition of the importance of air transport for

worldwide social and economic development

• Financial viability: to assist the industry to achieve adequate levels of profitability

of optimizing revenues (yield management) while minimizing costs (fuel charges
and taxation)

• Products & services: to provide high-quality, value-for-money, industry-required

products and services that assist the airlines in meeting the needs of the
consumer

• Standards & procedures: to develop cost-effective, environmentally-friendly

standards to facilitate the operations of international air transport

• Industry support: to identify and articulate common industry positions and

support the resolution of key industry issues (e.g.: congestion, infrastructure)

IATA plays a key role in safety and security for its airline members and has introduced
a number of new initiatives to help cut operational costs for airlines.

1.1.3 ACI – A Community of Airports

In 1991, airport operators around the world created Airport Council International, the
first worldwide association to represent their common interests and foster cooperation
with partners throughout the air transport industry. Through ACI, the airport
community now speaks with a single voice on key issues and concerns and, despite
regional diversity, can move forward as a united industry.

ACI has 575 members operating over 1,633 airports in 179 countries and territories. In
2008, AIC members handled 4.8 billion passengers, 86 million metric tons of freight
and 77 million aircraft movements.

AIC pursues the interests of airports in discussion with international organizations. The
most important relationship it has is with ICAO, where international standards for air
transport are debated and developed. AIC defends airports’ positions and develops
standards and recommended practices in the areas of safety, security and
environmental initiatives.

ACI is headed by a Director General who is supported by a General Assembly

comprising 29 members. The DG has a team of Directors and Managers focusing on:

• Aero political and economic affairs

• ICAO liaison and Environment

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• Communications

• Facility and security

• Safety and technical training

1.2 Roles of ICAO, IATA and AIRPORT COUNCIL INTN’L (ACI) in AVSEC

1.2.1 Roles of ICAO

ICAO is a United Nations Agency that has 190 members or “Contracting States”. As part
of its many functions, ICAO’s Aviation Security Section is involved in all aspects of
aviation security. This section’s mission is:

• To develop aviation security principles

• To communicate and promote these principles worldwide

• To assist ICAO Contracting States in implementing the principles.

ICAO achieves its mission through a variety of initiatives, principally:

• Maintenance of Annex 17

• Maintenance of the aviation security portions of other Annexes and Manuals

• Organization of AVSEC seminars

• Follow-up reporting on aviation security incidents

• Analysis of reports

• Maintenance of the Security Manual (Document 8973)

• Development of the ICAO Training Programs

• Development of new Aviation Security Training Programs (ASTPs)

• Coordination of the worldwide network of Aviation Security Training Centers

(ASTCs).

The current locations of the ASTCs are:

• Argentina (Buenos Aires)

• Canada (Montreal)

• China (Hong Kong)

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• China (Kinming)

• Ecuador (Quito)

• Jordan (Amman)

• Kenya (Nairobi)

• Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)

• Morocco (Casablanca)

• New Zealand (Auckland)

• Russian Federation (Moscow)

• Senegal (Dakar)

• South Africa (Johannesburg)

• Trinidad (Port of Spain)

• UAE (Dubai)

• Ukraine (Kiev)

ICAO conducts a variety of aviation security courses at these centers to train those in
the industry.

ICAO has two important documents that form the basis upon which aviation security is
conducted in its Contracting States. These documents are:

• Annex 17 to the Chicago Convention, which provides the basis for all aviation
security regulation and legislation

• Document 8973, which is the ICAO Security Manual.

In order to maintain consistency of standards in airports, ICAO conducts audits of these

airports under its “Universal Security Audit Programme” (USAP). The USAP was
introduced after the events of 9/11, which resulted in a ministerial-level conference in
Montreal, in February 2002. The key decisions made at this meeting were in the
following areas:

• Preventing, combating and eradicating acts of terrorism

• Strengthening ICAO’s role in developing Standards and Recommended Practices

(SARPs)

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• Ensuring financing for urgent actions

It was at this meeting that some very important decisions were made for the future of
aviation industry. The AVSEC Plan of Action, as it was termed, included the following:

• Establishment of the ICAO Audit Programme (USAP)

• Reinforcement of AVSEC Mechanism for urgent assistance and follow-up

• Assistance to States through the Technical Cooperation Programme in addressing

gaps in aviation security.

1.2.2 Roles of IATA

In representing its constituent members as an association of airlines, IATA provides

industry input to governments and other international organizations by:

• Assisting in the development of International Standards and Recommended

Practices

• Participating in the ICAO Aviation Security Panel

• Providing input to ICAO regional activities

• Encouraging governments to ratify, implement and adhere to international

security conventions

IATA also focuses on continual improvement, cost reduction and promoting measures to
reduce criminal activities such as:

• The carriage of illicit narcotics and other prohibited substances

• Stolen and unapproved aircraft parts

• The theft of baggage, cargo and mail

• The theft of corporate assets

IATA also:

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• Provides guidance to its members to combat the threat of unlawful interference

with civil aviation

• Conducts the IOSA audit program

Another important aspect of IATA’s contribution to aviation security is the development

of the IATA Security Manual. This document is a tremendous help to the airlines
because it is designed to assist in the implementation of Standards and Recommended
Practices prescribed in Annex 17.

Annex 17 is available to all agencies including the airlines. However, Document 8973 is
only available to government agencies. This means that airlines do not necessarily have
immediate access to the guidelines on implementation of Annex 17. IATA “bridged” this
gap with the production of its IATA Security Manual.

IATA also runs a variety of specialized aviation courses for practitioners in the industry.
One series of courses relates to aviation security. Unlike ICAO which focuses on aviation
security for airports, IATA focuses on the aviation security for airlines. Both of these use
Annex 17 as the baseline for their instruction.

For this purpose, IATA has more than 262 authorized training centers around the world.

1.2.3 Roles of Airport Council International (ACI)

 As a community of airports, the role of ACI is to: Draft positions for ICAO AVSEC
Panel

 Issue joint positions with IATA

 Lobby governments for sustainable security rules

 Prepare guidance for members

 Plan scenarios for 100% checked baggage screening

 Include security in airport design

 Share experiences with new screening technologies.

ACI defends the positions of its members and develops standards and recommended
practices in the areas of safety, security and environmental initiatives. ACI also
provides the platform for pursuing a constructive and cooperative relationship with
airline associations, governments and regulators.

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Training is also a key feature for ACI. It offers a number of aviation security courses
and has training centers in various countries.

THE END

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