SCM to help draw road map for solving current aviation security issues
The IFALPA Security Committee Meeting (SCM) currently prioritises four hot topics as the agendas. These are: cyber threat, laser attack, flight into and over conflicting zone and security aspects of drone operation. The meeting will contribute in drawing the road map for solving and tackling these issues.
Captain Ishtiaque Hossain, Executive Vice President of IFALPA said this at the launching ceremony of the first-of-its-kind IFALPA Security Committee Meeting, organised by Bangladesh Airlines Pilots’ Association (BAPA), held on October 15 at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital.
The three day long security committee meeting took place on October 15-17 at Pan Pacific Songargaon Hotel.
International Federation of Airlines Pilots’ Association (IFALPA) represents over 100,000 pilots in nearly 100 countries. The mission of the Federation is to promote the highest level of aviation safety worldwide and to be the global advocate of the piloting profession; providing representation, service and support to their members and the aviation industry.
Dr Gowher Rizvi, Int’l Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister attended the launching ceremony as the Chief Guest. Air Marshal (Retd) Enamul Bari, Chairman of Biman Board of Directors, Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, Capt Ishtiaque Hossain, Executive Vice President of IFALPA, Jeroen Kruse, Chairperson, IFALPA SEC Committee and Captain Mahbubur Rahman, President, Bangladesh Airline Pilots’ Association spoke on the occasion, among others.
80 representatives from different countries attended the meeting. On the first day, pilots from US, UK, Singapore, Germany and Finland held speeches, while pilots from Bangladesh, France, Thailand and Netherlands spoke on the second day.
The core activity of the IFALPA Security Committee is to improve the protection, safety and security of all persons involved in civil aviation and general public against acts of unlawful interference perpetuated in the ground or in-flight, said Captain Ishtiaque Hossain, Executive Vice President of IFALPA.
The global aviation industry is seeing an annual growth of 3.5 per cent. And Bangladesh itself is witnessing more than 8 per cent growth in the sector. “This growth is in proportion with aviation safety. Thus, such a professional forum is happening in Bangladesh at the right time,” said M Mafidur Rahman, Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
In the global aviation sector, the security aspect is overtaking all other arenas of development. “Biman Bangladesh Airlines is also trying its utmost in collaboration with CAAB and the government of the country to improve and be at par with the international standard of aviation security,” said Enamul Bari, Chairman, Biman Board of Directors.
“Along with the aforementioned agendas, I believe, this security committee meeting will also shed some light on how to increase airport security of the country to make it more convenient and safe for the travellers,” mentioned Dr Gawhar Rizvi, Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Captain Mahbubur Rahman, President of BAPA handed over a token of appreciation to the Chief Guest and thanked everyone for their presence.
Aviation security experts from all over the world and organisations such as ICAO, IATA and IFATCA were also present on the occasion among RAB, NSI, DGFI, SB, APBN, AVSEC (of Bangladesh Air force and CAAB), Customs, Immigration and many other security agencies of Bangladesh.
At the meeting, aviation security experts and pilots also brought up the event of Biman’s flight hijack in Chattogram, discussing possible security solutions to prevent such events from happening further.
Syed Nazmul Hasan, General Secretary, BAPA said, “Through discussion, we will come up with recommendations on aviation security.”
“The recommendations derived from this meeting will be sent to the concerned authorities of all the countries as well as International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO),” said Jeroen Kruse, Chairperson, IFALPA SEC Committee.
In conjunction with the meeting, BAPA also hosted a dinner named “BAPA Night 2019” on October 16 at Dhaka Club Limited. At the programme, BAPA honoured the pilots who professionally handled the flight hijack situation in 1978 and 2019 and other retired pilots while welcoming new ones.
