Flight Departments Encouraged to Develop, Continually Update Security Plans

Oct. 18, 2018

Regardless of whether a flight department is a large multi-aircraft operation or a single airplane and pilot, it needs to be prepared to respond to security threats. The “Security How-To” education session at NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) offered advice for operators of all sizes on implementing their own security assessment and response plans.

Developing an effective security strategy is a team effort, not only throughout the flight department, but across the entire company. “To have a security culture it needs to go beyond the flight department,” said attorney Greg Reigel, a partner at Shackelford, Bowen, McKinley & Norton, LLP. “Everyone needs to be working together and be on the same team. Does your company communicate [about] security and is aviation part of its security strategy?”

From developing responses to direct threats to personnel and passengers from terrorism, civil unrest or riots, to thefts or vandalism and cyber threats, Reigel encouraged attendees to take a similar approach with security as with risk management or implementing a safety management system (SMS.) “We must identify risks to the people and to the aircraft, and categorize those risks,” he explained. “How big are those risks, do they pose significant danger and what plans should be implemented to respond?”

Even companies with existing security response protocols need to reevaluate them often. “You can’t just spend the time to put a plan in place and then let it collect dust on the shelf,” Reigel said. “A plan that was good two years ago probably doesn’t incorporate all it should, given all we’ve seen over the past two years.”

The NBAA Security Council recently developed a template for companies that currently lack such a security plan, or those seeking to refine their existing protocols. However, council member Greg Kulis – pilot and security coordinator for L Brands, and a security auditor for the International Standard for Business Aviation Operations (IS-BAO) – cautioned there is no single, “cut-and-paste” solution addressing every possible contingency for every flight operation.

“An IS-BAO audit evaluates your security policy based on your specific operation,” he added. “This model will enable you to develop, organize or revise a policy that is specific to your company.”

The 12-step guide is comprised of four management-related and eight operational sections – ranging from background checks for personnel to auditing the security of your hangar, transient FBOs and their ground transportation and even catering providers – for flight departments to review and apply to their own operations.

Kulis further advised that “each flight operation, regardless of size, should have a designated security coordinator who facilitates communication between corporate security and flight operations on an ongoing basis.”

Review NBAA’s best practices for business aviation security.

Learn more about IS-BAOM.