IATA Boss - Airport Security 'Unco-ordinated Mess'
International Air Transport Association (IATA) boss Giovanni Bisignani has said airport security is an "unco-ordinated mess".
Speaking at a conference in Belgium, Bisignani said there is a huge amount of waste across the air travel industry - and that airports are partly to blame for running inefficient security programmes and IT systems.
Bisignani said: "The industry is much more secure than it was in 2001. But at what cost? Since 2001, airlines and their customers paid at least $30 billion in security".
He added: "We get more frustration than value. Why? Because fear drives decisions, the infrastructure cannot cope, governments are not cooperating and nobody is taking leadership".
Airport Security Checkpoints
The IATA Director-General blamed bureuacuracy, duplication and inefficient IT systems for causing long security queues and delays at airport security checkpoints.
Bisignani said that airports, working together with governments and security agencies, should focus on improving the efficiencies of IT systems by embracing new technologies.
He said: "The technologies are not science fiction. Millimetre wave, backscatter and biometrics are available today. Already many governments issue biometric passports. Now they need to start using them".
Advanced Passenger Information (API) Systems
Bisignani also said that improvements needed to be made to Advanced Passenger Information (API) systems.
He claimed that each data element in an API message costs $50,000 to be changed.
With API data messages being re-formatted to meet different agencies' requirements, Bisignani says that up to $100 million is being "wasted" each year.
He said airports, governments and airlines should all work together and use "common sense" to eradicate waste within the industry.
Source - Airport International's Aviation Correspondent
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