Airlines fear impact of US security law

Date: 11/03/1999

By Renée Cordes

Europe's air carriers fear they will have to find hundreds of millions of euro a year to pay for extra security measures resulting from a US law which is due to come into force next year.

In 1996, the US Senate passed a law requiring foreign airlines to apply security measures “identical” to those in force at US airports which is due to be implemented in mid-2000. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently examining ways of putting this into practice.

Although the legislation at the centre of the controversy does not specify precisely what security measures would have to be introduced by European carriers, the industry fears it will be forced to adopt the cumbersome, sophisticated 'passenger profiling' system currently used by most large international US carriers.

Passenger profiling involves assembling a computer profile of each traveller and noting those that are particularly suspicious.

US aviation authorities argue that the requirement for airlines to screen travellers in this way should be extended to European carriers to ensure passenger safety and guard against terrorism.

But Europe's air carriers argue they already screen passengers adequately and insist any additional measures would be costly and unnecessary.

“We do not find this kind of profiling necessary unless there is a very specific warning of a potential threat,” said Sefik Yüksel, who is in charge of trade affairs at the Association of European Airlines, which testified against the US measure at a hearing last week in Washington.

This view was echoed by Gerry Lumdsen, deputy executive director of the European Civil Aviation Conference, who added that the legislation could lead to congestion and delays.