AVIATION SECURITY & FACILITATION

ACI Asia-Pacific considers aviation security as one of its key priorities, with a goal to help airports in the region achieve “a better security outcome”. As the civil aviation industry continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the regional meetings in aviation security have gradually resumed to normalcy over the second half of 2022.

One of the most notable meetings that reconvened in-person for the first time in almost 3 years was the 29th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Aviation Security Committee (RASC) meeting that was held in October in Dubai. Attended by over 30 airport security experts from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, the two-day meeting focused particularly on potential aviation security threats that could endanger the civil aviation system and their mitigation strategies. Besides, a number of other security issues were also discussed in detail, such as the effectiveness of behaviour detection technique, impacts of screener shortage, changes in ICAO Annex 17 regulations and sustainability in airport security operations.

Moreover, with an aim to assist the RASC members in the adoption of advanced screening technologies, representatives from a number of ACI World Business Partners were invited to the meeting to discuss about latest technological innovations, such as detection methods of explosives and prohibited items, implementation of open architecture concept and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) for automated screening. The RASC will resume meeting two times per year from 2023. The RASC also published a guidance document to consolidate the competency requirements of various airport security functions, such as airport security manager, behavioural detection officer, patrol officer and more. The document aims to provide supplementary references for airports in understanding the requirements of the various job functions, and thus being able to make better decisions on recruitment and human resources deployment.

In addition, ACI Asia-Pacific is committed to advocate for better security policies and regulations in the interest of airports. For example, two working papers were submitted to both the ICAO Asia-Pacific DGCA conference in Seoul and the Middle East 6th DGCA conference in Abu Dhabi to call for the implementation of One-stop Security (OSS), which is a concept of removing security screening and controls at the transfer airport. Despite the notable benefits, the implementation of OSS, however, is still very limited worldwide, especially in the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East regions. The lack of implementation could be attributed to potential challenges, including but not limited to political considerations or airport infrastructure limitation. If implemented effectively and appropriately, OSS will not only enhance airport operational efficiency and passenger experience Regional with a smoother transfer process, but also increase overall security standards as resources can be mobilised to other higher-risk areas.

Moreover, ACI Asia-Pacific continued to work closely with the ICAO regional offices and was represented at various ICAO regional security groups over the year, including the Middle East Regional Aviation Security and Facilitation

Implementation Team (RAFIT) and the Asia-Pacific Regional Aviation Security Coordination Forum (RASCF).

Last but not least, the Regional Office was invited to speak at a number of security events in 2022 organised by key State regulators in the region, such as the virtual security culture webinar hosted by Japan, the virtual 10th Asia-Pacific Aviation Security Heads of Regulators (HOR) meeting co-hosted by Singapore and Japan, the 7th Europe-Asia Pacific Aviation Security Forum by Singapore and European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), as well as the Aviation Cyber Security Conference by Australia.

COVID-19 Reponses

ACI Asia-Pacific continued to advocate for border reopening and relaxation of COVID-19 related travel restrictions. The regional office engaged with a number of airports and regulators especially in the first half of 2022 to provide the latest state of the industry in light of the pandemic. Also, various joint communication initiatives with other international associations, such as the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA), were conducted to urge governments in the region to withdraw COVIDrelated curbs on international travel.

In addition, ACI Asia-Pacific attended the 15th meeting of the ICAO Collaborative Arrangement for the Prevention and Management of Public Health Events in Civil Aviation - Asia Pacific (CAPSCAAP/15) in Manila. At the meeting, the ACI AsiaPacific proposed a number of recommendations that could help the industry better prepare for future pandemic, including the introduction of a universally accepted digital health credentials and to adopt a balanced approach when implementing additional health measures at airports, if required, to minimise unnecessary interference on operations.