Developing a strong personal security strategy is a critical part of any international business aviation trip. Keys to success involve effectively evaluating threat levels at travel destinations, understanding potential vulnerabilities and calculating risks, said Patrick Kane, senior director of security for a large, global aircraft leasing and charter company, based in the U.S.
Speaking at the 2025 NBAA International Operators Conference (IOC2025) in San Juan, PR, Kane suggested several smart steps aimed at making trips to other countries are as safe as possible.
“From an organizational standpoint, we always want to consider our travelers or air crew,” Kane said. “We want to think about how potential threats at our destinations will impact us and impact our travelers. This will help us focus our resources and our attention.”
Kane, who’s responsible for worldwide security operations across his company, offered six actionable items that operators should execute in advance of any trip where security is a concern:
- Research potential security issues at travel.state.gov or osac.gov that may affect your safety at each destination.
- Review what items you’re bringing into the country to avoid violating local laws.
- Sign up for the U.S. State Department Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive real-time security updates about destination countries.
- Check your insurance policy to make sure it includes enough assistance for emergencies taking place outside the U.S.
- Know what transportation that will be used upon arrival at the destination.
- Have a plan for communications with home and office.
Maintain Proper Levels of Awareness
On an individual level, maintaining constant situational awareness in public places is among the most important strategies to keep in mind, Kane said. “It’s going to help you in almost every situation,” he said. Consider using different levels of awareness for various degrees of concern: “relaxed” awareness, “focused or heightened” awareness, and “fight-or-flight” for immediate threats.
He compared relaxed awareness to driving a car, where “you’re seeing other vehicles and at an almost unconscious scale of your experience as a driver – you’re able to stay relaxed. … But at the same time, if something were to happen, if someone were to move in front of you, you would see it and respond quickly.”
Anytime you’re transitioning in between spaces, you should have a heightened awareness about your environment, Kane said. Moving through parking lots, parking garages or less-traveled streets located near busy neighborhoods are all possible danger zones where heightened awareness would be appropriate.
Get familiar with your hotel by knowing all hotel exits. Check in regularly, if possible, with team members and colleagues at company headquarters.
Also, if possible, avoid predictability, Kane advised. Try to use various routes and times of day when moving between locations. This strategy will reduce the possibility of targeted attacks.
Assemble Three Lines of Gear
Logistically, it helps to prioritize your personal belongings in case you need to move fast to avoid danger in an emergency. With this in mind, Kane outlined a concept called “three lines of gear” aimed at making sure you don’t lose track of your most important items.
Line 1: Items that are most important for traveling. Critical elements such as your wallet, passport and cell phone should be always kept on your body when in public. Also consider obtaining and carrying a backup or secondary passport when traveling and keeping the primary passport separate.
Line 2: Items that are important not essential. For example, perhaps a backpack with a laptop or a tablet might not leave you stranded if you lost them. These may be things that are wipeable by remote internet technology and can be replaced.
Line 3: Items that can be easily replaced and are not necessary in a crisis. For example, a suitcase full of clothing and toiletries. If these things are lost or stolen, you can buy replacements.
Use Multiple Handlers, Plan for the Worst
For those who are traveling to an area of the world experiencing high crime levels and other security concerns, Kane said it makes good sense not to rely on one local handler or fixer.
“For example, you want to avoid relying on one contact to pick you up at the airport and provide everything for you,” he said. “That way, if you get into a situation or a problem with your primary contact, you have somebody else that you’re able to call for help, and you’re not entirely depending on that sole contact in that country.”
Also, Kane recommended looking at situations that are “highly probable or things which are highly impactful and have a plan for them.” For example, he said, be prepared if you lose your passport by researching in advance how to contact the U.S. Embassy and what is involved in getting a temporary passport.
Be prepared for health-related scenarios. “You want to have a plan in place if your prescriptions get confiscated at an airport,” Kane said. “You want to have a plan about a pharmacy you can contact, or somebody who can help you with that. Have a plan in case you or someone on your team gets sick or injured. Who will you contact, other than the embassy?”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.