Uniform security measures at airports vital, says IATA

Dubai: "Every airport has its own process. Shoes on or off? Laptop in or out? And what do you do with your coat and belt? How can passengers have confidence in the system when the answers are different each time?" said Giovanni Bisignani, director-general and chief executive officer of the International Airport Transport Association (IATA).

Bisignani made the remarks during his keynote speech to the international business community in Japan last Thursday. A copy of the speech was furnished to Gulf News.

Security in the airline industry was threatened in 2006 by an alleged terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives on airliners flying from the United Kingdom to the United States.

As a result, airports immediately imposed radical security measures, including a ban on liquid, gel and aerosol products in carry-on baggage. The unprecedented measures caused chaos and delayed flights for days.

Need for better services

Considering the huge amount of money that the airline industry spends on security each year, the top IATA official said, "We deserve better service. Those who travel frequently will see some improvement with the common approach to liquids and gels. But that's not enough," he added.

He said governments do not mutually recognise standards, causing airports to "screen and re-screen at each stage of the trip and the piles of confiscated duty-free liquids grows higher by the day.

"The only exception is the agreement between Singapore and Europe that jointly recognises security standards for duty-free products. Japan has a significant amount of traffic to both Europe and the US - markets with similar levels of security technology and skills.

"And with traffic concentrated at three main airports, mutual recognition of standards should be possible. In fact, Japan is uniquely placed to develop a template that others could follow," Bisignani said.

The IATA official also said that after six and a half years of crisis, the airline industry is still in "desperate need of change.

"Since 2001, airlines have done an impressive job of re-building their business: 64 per cent improvement in labour productivity, 25 per cent reduction in sales and marketing unit costs and 16 per cent reduction in non-fuel unit costs," Bisignani said.

Last year, a robust economy fuelled international passenger traffic growth of 7.4 per cent. Despite spending $135 billion on fuel in 2007, which is 29 per cent of operating costs, airlines managed to return a profit of $5.6 billion.