1. what are the biggest threats to united and the airline industry today?
Two decades have passed since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, inverse the world. That fateful day initiated 20 years of continuous development within the aviation security system. Over those xx years, Airlines for America (A4A) and the U.Southward. airline industry has strengthened its commitment to prioritizing security and invested in strategic measures to mitigate and proactively address take a chance. We know our success in keeping our employees, passengers and aircraft safe is not the product of happenstance. Rather, it is the consequence of deliberate, systematic improvements over many years in collaboration with our federal government partners, and an industry that is constantly challenging itself to encounter and exceed the highest standards. Nosotros play a critical role in keeping our skies secure, and we take that responsibleness with the utmost seriousness.
When assessing the daily challenges of aviation security, it is important to understand the depth and magnitude of the global services provided past U.S. airlines. Prior to the global health crisis, U.S. airlines had seen 10 years of consecutive growth. And, in 2019, U.Due south. airlines carried a record 2.5 million passengers and more than 58,000 tons of cargo every twenty-four hour period to and from more than than 800 airports in nearly 80 countries. Although the manufacture has not yet fully recovered from the bear upon of COVID-19, nosotros forecast that U.S. airlines will return to 2022 passenger volumes by 2023. Every bit the industry prepares for this growth, nosotros recognize that we must remain vigilant and committed to a nimble, multi-layered security regime. We must besides identify innovative ways to ensure an appropriate level of security screening is practical in the most efficient manner.
Innovation Plus Applied science
The firsthand authorities response to increment screening of passengers, baggage and cargo in the years following September xi and subsequent aviation security incidents served the sole purpose of enhancing security countermeasures. And understandably so. In more than contempo years, we accept seen significant strides in our ability to leverage applied science to enhance security. Our industry has always been at the forefront of innovation, and technology has been a key driver to enable an increment in security effectiveness as well as enhancing rider facilitation and the customer feel. While security is always paramount, we have learned that these are not mutually sectional goals. The question moving forward is how to maximize innovation to take the next great leap for security and facilitation of commerce.
Our industry is doing our part. U.S. airlines have partnered with Silicon Valley technology companies, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Applied science Directorate, the DHS Centers of Excellence and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to pilot security innovations and enable other research and testing. In recent years, these projects have included Advanced Screening Lanes, Computed Tomography for accessible holding screening, utilise of biometrics and the development of explosive trace detection applications for cargo screening purposes. And, in many cases, airlines have donated this technology to the TSA through the Capabilities Acceptance Process. Our members' proactive partnership on engineering science innovation projects has served to expedite research and evolution, field testing and full deployment of technologies that have significantly increased our security posture.
Airlines have been encouraged by the TSA'south rapid deployment of Credential Authentication Technology (True cat) over the past several years. By itself, CAT is an of import security enhancement to verify real-time vetting results at the checkpoint. However, Cat tin can as well be integrated with facial matching capability, providing the TSA a platform for biometric verification at the checkpoint. This use of biometrics automates what is currently a manual identity verification process, thereby reducing the potential for human mistake and fraud.
"Nosotros demand the ability to puddle knowledge and leverage TSA'southward 'marketplace need signal' to aggrandize and incentivize research and development for additional cargo screening technologies"
In improver to supporting TSA's efforts to expand its biometric capability, the U.S. airline industry has been eager to place opportunities to incorporate technologies like biometrics into the rider travel experience, combining advanced security technologies with client service. In fact, one of the largest investments in technology by the aviation community over the past several years has been enhancing and integrating biometrics into the travel process. Airlines are partnering with TSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to implement facial recognition capability at cheque-in, baggage drop and boarding. And, equally we go on to brand progress toward broader implementation of facial recognition capability, airlines have remained strongly committed to strict privacy principles that include robust passenger advice efforts, opt-in options and non-retention of photos for business purposes.
Over the past year, the COVID-xix public health crisis has played a significant function in expediting rollout of applied science solutions – including increased use of biometrics, enhancements to smartphone applications and touchless check-in options – that not only heighten security simply besides reduce touchpoints throughout the travel experience. We are pleased that information continues to indicate that there is enormous appetite amongst travelers to utilize these technologies. Co-ordinate to A4A's most contempo annual rider survey, an overwhelming 80 percent of respondents who did not check bags while traveling checked-in electronically. And, even among those with checked luggage, more than than 60 pct checked in for their flights digitally. Moving forward, airlines will keep to piece of work with DHS, CBP, TSA and our passengers to ensure both security and privacy protections remain forepart and center, and nosotros will continue efforts to increase consumer confidence in these technologies.
As we enter the next era of aviation security, nosotros look forward to working closely with DHS and TSA to mirror TSA's same success in driving the innovative market place for passenger and baggage screening technologies towards new cargo screening technology options. The mass scale movement of critical, life-saving personal protective equipment, vaccines, food and other appurtenances during the pandemic illustrated to the globe what we in aviation already knew: the movement of these appurtenances past air cargo is vital to our modern world. Unlike passenger and baggage screening, the industry remains responsible for screening of air cargo and investing in the screening technology to exist used. This screening is very complex given the broad diversity of commodities to be shipped and the time-sensitive nature of the shipments. We need the power to puddle noesis and leverage TSA'south "market need signal" to expand and incentivize research and development for additional cargo screening technologies beyond the tools available today. The airline manufacture stands prepare to expedite this important work in the aforementioned spirit of partnership as has been achieved in other areas.
All-around Growing Demand
Although the aviation industry has not fully recovered from the pandemic-induced downturn in travel, passenger book exceeded chapters in certain markets during the summertime of 2021. Pre-pandemic, we focused on staffing and throughput at large, high-volume airports that required a large footprint for TSA checkpoints. As a consequence of the largely leisure travel-driven recovery in 2021, these were not the airports that saw a quick return to travel. Many modest- to medium-size airports in proximity to outdoor recreational activities recovered the quickest, in some cases exceeding their pre-pandemic volumes. For example, TSA screened fourteen.5 percent more air travelers at Montana airports in July 2022 than it did in July 2019.
While we all hope for continued growth of air travel that exceeds 2022 levels in the virtually future, the reply to managing larger volume cannot but be to continue expanding airport infrastructure. In the years to come, it is critical we recollect beyond the static TSA checkpoints of the by 20 years and think outside the box. We will need innovative solutions that provide opportunities for more efficiency within the electric current infrastructure. We demand solutions that are flexible and bring together the latest technology, leveraging vetting of passengers to better apply the appropriate level of security to those nosotros know the virtually or least nearly. Recent feel has shown usa in one case again that we need to exist nimbler and more than responsive to both evolving threats and quick changes in the marketplace.
Staying Alee of the Antagonist
Every bit aviation security has grown more robust and challenging to circumvent, our adversaries have go increasingly creative in their attempts. Prior to ix/11, aircraft hijackings were a master threat, and the tragic events of September eleven showed us that terrorists would weaponize the aircraft itself. Since that time, we have seen a variety of plots against aviation. We saw the shoe flop attempt in December 2001, the liquid explosive plot in 2006, the underwear bomber in 2009, the printer cartridge bomb plot in 2010, the second underwear bomb in 2012, the MetroJet bombing in 2015, the Daallo Airlines bombing using insiders in 2016, the need for enhanced screening for personal electronic devices in 2017, and the Australian flop plot in 2017. The list is long.
Today, these threats have evolved, and the U.S. airline manufacture is facing new challenges, including cyber threats and potential threats from unmanned aircraft systems. Our industry operates in a rapidly evolving, complex security environment on the ground and in airspace around the earth, and we must acknowledge that the type of threats we are confronted with will continue to change. We must be prepared. One of the key findings of the nine/11 Commission Report was the U.Due south. government'southward inability to effectively share intelligence and other information to guide decision making. While enormous strides take been fabricated to address those shortcomings over the past two decades, it is equally important that a 2-mode data flow between government and industry – the operators of the critical infrastructure at risk – exist robust.
When because the scale and complexity of the U.S. aviation system and the agility needed to operate a successful, risk-based security system, it is easy to sympathise why nosotros believe it is so of import to approach security in a smart and coordinated way. That is why a fundamental question for the airline manufacture as we look toward the future is how to best partner with government as well every bit lean on our ain contained resources to sympathize potential future threats so that we tin can proactively mitigate run a risk.
The air domain is extremely complex, and there are myriad players who need to work together seamlessly to brand the system secure. The Function of the Manager of National Intelligence designates a National Intelligence Director for Aviation for this very reason: to bring unity of endeavor across the intelligence community focused on threats to aviation. We've had success in contempo years in bringing together this diverse community, including cleared industry partners, to better understand threats. We must go on this progress.
We've also made tremendous headway to establish routine collaboration with the TSA and other government partners when confronted with specific risks to aviation. Today, when facing a new hazard, we can have real-time, collaborative exchanges of information to rapidly determine whether the existing security measures are effective and to determine if whatever additional action is required by both industry and government to mitigate such risks. This is particularly important for flights from last point of deviation airports to the United States, where airlines have a critical part in executing enhanced security measures necessary for flights to the The states.
The U.S. airline industry brings immense value to discussions with government about risks in particular locations or what countermeasures may be most effective and conceivably implemented in a time-sensitive business organization operation. Airlines are the forepart line of security. Our employees are the professionals who sympathize and run the operations day in and twenty-four hour period out, and information technology is our people and our customers whom we are all trying to protect. A "one size fits all" security measure is not the optimum response to threats, and airlines can provide the operational insight and on-the-ground context required to make well-informed security decisions. Such collaboration allows the government and industry to focus resources on the highest risks and about effective security measures. We are grateful for the progress that has been fabricated to enhance such communication and remain committed to continuing to build on the success of the past several years. With a ii-way information flow between authorities and manufacture seamlessly integrated as standard do, nosotros will all be better prepared and more proactive in confronting what may come up next.
Looking Frontward
The obvious seismic change in the threat mural in recent years is the increase in cyber-related threats. In fact, there is recognition from both manufacture and authorities over the past several years that cybersecurity has become as critically of import equally our focus on physical security measures. Our industry is naturally incentivized to invest in and protect our infrastructure from cyber threats to ensure systems are safe, secure and reliable. Over the past three years alone, A4A'due south fellow member airlines have invested billions of dollars each year on information technology (IT), cybersecurity and other related efforts to preserve operational integrity and information security. These investments include cybersecurity: protection; governance; detection; threat and vulnerability management; incident response; and identity and admission management.
The U.S. airline manufacture continues to make significant cyber investments in IT infrastructure, preparation, exercises, assessments, along with consistently partnering with the federal government and other private sector stakeholders to share information, best practices and lessons learned. Every bit the federal government works to strengthen its ain cybersecurity posture, we will continue to partner with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, TSA and the Federal Aviation Administration on how best to work together to confront cyber threats.
As we reverberate on the progress made in aviation security since the tragic events of 9/11, nosotros too recognize that our delivery to ensuring security in the skies must keep. U.Southward. airlines are committed to building on the progress that has been made over the past 20 years and farther strengthening relationships with the federal regime to enhance efforts to collaboratively mitigate risks. We recognize the importance of continuing to invest in new technologies and systems to stay ahead of the evolving threat landscape and continuing to support efforts that ensure our federal government partners – particularly the TSA and CBP – are appropriately resourced. Security is not taken for granted past our industry, and it never will exist. There is much work to do, and we are committed to ensuring that commercial aviation remains the safest manner of transportation in the globe for decades to come.
Source: https://www.hstoday.us/featured/state-of-americas-airlines-navigating-a-new-threat-landscape/
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