Remarks by Jacques Duchesneau, C.M., President and CEO, Canadian Air Transport Security Authority

Finding a Balanced Approach to Security Requirements in an Emerging Climate of Stress

15th Cannes Airlines Forum
Air Transport and Passengers: Restoring Confidence
Cannes, France, October 19, 2006

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Introduction

Customary greetings,
Distinguished speakers,
Honourable delegates,

I am very pleased to be here with you today. I always find it exciting to speak to people whose decisions shape the everyday reality and the vitality of air transport, not only in our own countries but also across continents and around the world.

And as I'm sure you will agree, it is also a pleasure to be holding our discussions in a setting as delightful and charming as Cannes and La Croisette are at this time of year.

Today, we will be looking at an issue that has been back in the news in a dramatic way in the past two months: passenger confidence in air transport security.

I recently read an article in a major Canadian newspaper on the findings of a study on people's fears. According to the study, people's three main fears are speaking in public, dying, and dying while speaking in public. So as you can see, I'm confronting all of them head on.

Speaking of fears and overcoming them, we know that as a result of the attacks of September 11, 2001, air travellers face increasingly intrusive security procedures at various checkpoints in airports around the world. But even though safety remains the primary concern of air transport security officials, including the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), we must bear in mind that offering passengers stress-free service should come a close second.

The current climate of threat, combined with the proactive security measures in place in our airports can be disconcerting and irritating for the average traveller. We need to respond to this by developing and implementing effective measures that minimize these inconveniences and eradicate travellers' fears.

We want air transport users to understand that control measures are in place not only to counter terrorism but also to counter fear.

The various layers of security checks and measures we have put in place need to deter potential terrorists and at the same time convince people that it is safe to fly.

However, we also need to understand that for a security solution to be effective, it has to be viable. We must seriously examine the risks and try to find a balance between effective security and efficient passenger and baggage flow. And even more importantly, we need to make sure that the inconveniences inherent in flying don't outweigh the advantages. The only way to achieve this is to eliminate as many causes of stress as possible.

Today, against this backdrop, I would like to look at this broad issue from three main angles: Why do strong security measures need to be in place at all times in air transport? Why can we not – and must not – let fear get the better of us? And finally, I will propose our own solutions for achieving the right balance between aviation security and stress-free travel by providing specific examples of what we are doing in Canada.

Why should we not be afraid to take a plane?

Let's start with a little quiz.

What city do you think has the highest crime rate in the world?

Would you be surprised if I were to tell you it was the Vatican ? In fact, that is just what the BBC has reported. In 2002, 87.2 % of the population of the Vatican had committed a civil offence and 133.6 % had committed a criminal offence; these are much higher proportions than are recorded anywhere else. And recently, they appeared to be rising. Let's hope the problem has settled down now.

As this short quiz demonstrates, violence and crime know no geographic or ethnic boundaries. Our worst enemy is often our perception of danger more than the danger itself. We are afraid of beginnings and endings. We are afraid of failure. We are afraid of success. We are afraid of living… and, of course, of dying. And clearly we are also afraid of flying.

Yet the strict, multi-level security systems we have put in place are designed to encourage the proactive detection of threats and deter terrorists from carrying out attacks. These systems, which have vastly improved since September 11, have made civil aviation considerably more secure than it was just five years ago.

Despite these achievements, some air transport users still have a phobia of flying. This forces us to try to find a balance between the need for strong security measures and the need to inspire confidence in public transportation.

Today, I am going to talk to you about what we are doing to restore travellers' confidence in air travel.

Why do we need strong safety measures for civil aviation?

Are there justifiable reasons for being afraid to fly? In other words, are there rational fears, as I call them?

The changing terrorist threat

We need to understand that terrorism is a set of tactics that some people use against more powerful opponents to force them to concede to their demands. The goal of terrorists is to achieve their objectives by creating as much fear as possible and by terrorizing on a grand scale.

Terrorism has manifested itself in many ways throughout history. Since September 11, 2001, we have been facing what can rightly be called catastrophic terrorism. The March 11, 2004 attacks in Madrid , the July 7, 2005 attacks in London and the recent aborted attempt on August 10 at Heathrow Airport are part of this trend.

Today, the threat is more widely dispersed. It is much more difficult to detect and counter. The priority of terrorist groups has shifted to fighting the “distant enemy”, particularly the West. Today, terrorists are part of secret networks operating in transnational cells.

This brand of terrorism is also based on religion. It makes no distinction between Christians and Muslims, only between believers and non-believers. As a result, it is not limited to a specific geographic area. It hits anywhere, at any time.

Characteristics of terrorists

With the advent of Al Qaeda, many terrorist groups that are active today, as well as new ones continuing to emerge, use a network structure that provides them with more security and operational flexibility. Thus, a cell may be destroyed without the others necessarily being detected or compromised. They can also operate in small groups.

Today, we can identify four levels of Al Qaeda: the core Al Qaeda group, which is made up of professional terrorists and the top echelon of the leadership, who carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the USS Cole. Secondly, there are groups affiliated or associated with Al Qaeda but operating independently, like the group that was led by Al-Zarqawi in Iraq. There are also local Al Qaeda operatives of independent terrorists, such as Ahmed Ressam, who act on their own behalf. Lastly, there are Al Qaeda loners, like the independent cell involved in attacks such as the Madrid bombings in 2004.

In fact, it is difficult to talk about Al Qaeda as an organized group. Since it is more a philosophy than an organization, the acts carried out by Al Qaeda are extremely difficult to predict.

These groups work together coordinate their funding, and share information, technology, training and the planning of attacks. They are patient, resilient , innovative, resourceful and creative. And they are quite willing to die for the cause. Because of all these characteristics, terrorists have completely transformed the security landscape around the world and in the West in particular.

The consequence for us is that we must ensure air transport security without ever letting down our guard.

The target: civil aviation

It is clear today that despite the safeguards put in place after September 11, civil aviation remains one of the potential targets of terrorist groups.

We can also see the efforts these groups go to in order to achieve their goals. It is clear that terrorists will do everything within their power to get onto airplanes and destroy them, killing themselves along with the passengers and crewmembers.

Why do they do this? For the same reasons they attacked the World Trade Centre. All the deaths and catastrophic destruction guarantee them instantaneous media coverage. They try to capture people's imaginations by destroying their symbols, thus eroding people's confidence in their transportation systems and undermining the foundation of socio-economic exchange.

Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that passengers are extremely concerned about air transport security. So it is essential for us to succeed in calming their fears, and this means putting strong security measures in place. The purpose of these measures is both to deter terrorists and reassure passengers.

We are aware of the terrorists' ability to attack the air transport system and their determination to do so. Our job is to make aviation a less attractive target for them.

This is why the organization I head has considerably enhanced its levels of security. Let's take a brief look at some of the initiatives that enable us to curb irrational fears related to air transport security and deal with them in a reasonable way.

Proactive multi-level aviation security systems

CATSA has made the strategic decision to act rather than react. I like to use the example of hunters and fishermen to better illustrate what that means to us. We know that a fisherman waits until the fish comes to him whereas a hunter stays ahead of his prey and must show flexibility, initiative and creativity to outsmart it.

In our fight against terrorism, we prefer the hunter approach. Rather than wait for the terrorists to show themselves, we implemented the key elements of a proactive aviation security system. We believe doing anything less would mean giving terrorists free reign.

Yet there is no easy answer. We have become experts at detecting items that have already been used by terrorists. But what about the next weapon they will use? Where and when will it be used? Screening baggage and personal belongings is an essential tool in this regard, but at the same time, it is obviously impossible to check everything.

Our security system is particularly concerned with protecting the areas where we are most vulnerable. By doing this, we create conditions that make terrorist attacks much more difficult. To this end, we are ensuring that we have the best security systems, the best training and the best tools to do our work, while operating within a framework of action that is easy to implement. The various action models we are developing enable us to be prepared for the unexpected and to stay ahead of the ideas that are currently brewing within the terrorist cells.

Improved technology and better training

Our equipment must be constantly upgraded or replaced so it can always be adapted to face new terrorist challenges. I find it particularly interesting that at the very moment when the London terrorist plot was being foiled in August, Canadian airports were preparing to install liquid explosive detection systems. Coincidence or foresight?

Still, it's difficult to always anticipate what terrorists will do. We have to admit that most of the time, the majority of the technologies and safety measures in place are based on the terrorists' latest inventions rather than on what they might do in the future.

To improve our performance in this area, new alternatives are being implemented, including the use of biometric information. For instance, to screen non-passengers, CATSA has developed the first airport restricted area ID card that uses the iris and fingerprints for identification purposes. Biometry will become a key protection system, but it cannot respond to everything. Although technology seems to be an infallible solution, it will never completely replace a set of sharp eyes in detecting suspicious people and situations.

According to Scott McHugh, a former official with the US Department of Homeland Security, a closer watch should be kept on passengers' behaviour rather than on their personal belongings. Passengers who are sweaty, nervous, stiff, or tightening their fists should be identified. A conclusive experiment using this approach was conducted at Washington Airport.

But to use this approach, as in all the others, we have to depend on our staff's alertness to detect potential problems.

That is why we don't skimp on the basic training we give our employees. Indeed, our training hours have more than tripled from 50 to 180 hours in the last few years, and our 4,635 screening officers receive additional training if needs or circumstances dictate it. Their alertness is evaluated using infiltration tests conducted by Transport Canada to ensure that our employees are constantly alert and performing effectively.

In addition, in order to increase our screening officers' awareness of how crucial it is for them to do their job well and how serious the impact of a terrorist act is on surviving victims or their relatives, we tell them the story of Jackie Pflug. The deeply moving and inspiring testimonial of the survivor of hijacked EgyptAir flight #648 on November 24, 1985 is a strong motivation for screening officers working at various airport checkpoints to remain alert at all times.

Summary of Jackie Pflug's story: Ten minutes into EgyptAir Flight #648, three terrorists, calling themselves "The Egypt Revolution," hijacked the aircraft. 

A gun battle ensued as the terrorists took control of the flight. Damage caused to the fuselage forced an emergency landing of the plane in Malta . Once on the tarmac, the terrorists began to execute one passenger after the other until their demands for fuel were met. At the end of this massacre, on that fateful 1985 Thanksgiving weekend, fifty-nine passengers were dead and one, left for dead, had survived. Her name is Jackie Pflug.

Better communication and more information sharing

The threats posed by terrorism are so broad and complex that no department or institution can face them on their own, especially if they act in isolation. A concerted, cooperative effort is needed. To this end, we must exchange information and data, and share operational concepts with our regional, national and international security partners.

We have made considerable effort to improve our communication and share information with the various stakeholders involved in air transport security, including passengers.

By combining these factors, we have created an unprecedented aviation security system. As CEO of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, I can assure you that I have absolute faith in our system and in those of our counterparts around the world.

When anxious passengers ask me whether it is safe to fly, I tell them, ”Yes, it's safe!” What was my message on the morning of August 11, 2006? “It's still safe to fly!” And what do I say to people who ask me for the best piece of safety advice I can give them before their next plane trip? “Drive carefully on your way to the airport!”

The recipe for success: balancing security with good customer service

Is there a recipe for balancing safety and good customer service? I believe the answer is “Yes”. In Canada , this recipe includes three key ingredients:

Knowledge

The first ingredient is knowledge -- the more knowledge and information passengers have, the more confident they become. But in addition to having relevant information, we also need to be able to convey this information to passengers quickly and effectively, particularly during a crisis.

For example, take what happened in England in August when the terrorist plot was foiled at Heathrow Airport involving airplanes bound for the United States. As soon as new security measures became necessary, the first thing we did at CASTA was to convey the relevant information to all passengers as quickly as possible.

Signs outlining new security measures, notices posted immediately on our Web site, and the concerted efforts of CASTA staff, particularly our front-line screening officers, to inform passengers and to answer questions as fully and as well as possible, were some of the measures we used to keep passengers abreast of the situation. And passengers were grateful for the way in which we provided them with the information they needed in order to understand what was happening and how they would be affected.

Passengers tend to become complacent as time goes by and they forget the last attacks against civilian aircraft, so they need to be politely reminded of the reasons for maintaining strict security measures. In most cases, they just need to be reminded and informed of the reasons for what we do.

For instance, we often hear passengers complain that screening measures vary from one airport to another and from one country to another, or that they are too restrictive. These measures are often seen as a waste of time, money and resources. Perhaps these passengers don't realize that we deliberately change our screening methods from time to time to make them less predictable. Because the less predictable we are, the more difficult it is for terrorists to break down our defences.

Positive reinforcement

The second ingredient in our recipe for restoring passengers' confidence is lots of positive reinforcement. Passengers need to be continually reminded that it really is safe to fly. This is even more crucial when there is a crisis.

An experience I had a number of years ago, as head of the Montreal Police Department, illustrates the power of positive reinforcement. In January 1998, Canada experienced the ice storm of the century. Of course such a storm is a little difficult to imagine here on the sunny Mediterranean coast, but it was incredible. The extreme weather conditions caused massive damage and left thousands of people without electricity for days.

You can understand that with temperatures fluctuating between -8 and -15 °C, it was absolutely essential to reassure the public on a regular basis, especially since electricity was the main source of heating in the region hit by the ice storm. It was almost as if the movie The Day After Tomorrow was playing out in real life. To ensure that things remained calm, it was essential to make people realize that everything would be OK. That is what I did many times a day in the most critical moments. I must say this helped us keep the situation under control.

Participation of passengers and the public

The third and final ingredient in our recipe is passenger participation. If passengers are actively involved in aviation security and given their own part to play, the system will not seem so cumbersome to them. By actively participating, they will no doubt feel much more involved than annoyed. And by keeping them informed about the nature of the terrorist threat, we make them feel as if they are in control of the situation and help them make more informed personal decisions.

One of the methods used to encourage passenger participation in aviation security is airport surveillance programs, which are designed to reassure passengers. We also conduct information campaigns to neutralize the psychological effect sought by the terrorists and to make people less vulnerable to terrorist acts.

There are also “If you see something, say something” type campaigns, inviting citizens to dial a 1-800 or toll-free number – I think you call them “numéros verts” here – to report suspicious people or items.

By bringing members of the public in as participants, we provide them with the tools they need to help in the fight against terrorism. As a result, they can understand the nature of terrorism, how to guard against it, how to be vigilant and how to deal with an attack.

Conclusion

To sum up, it is important to remember that terrorism is fuelled by generating fear through the most unexpected, terrifying acts possible. Terrorists use fear to try to affect change that will allow them to pursue their aspirations.

Our job is to prevent them from achieving their goals, to cut them off from what Margaret Thatcher has called their “oxygen”, that is, the media coverage they receive as a result of their acts of terror.

In aviation security, it is absolutely essential for us to prevent a climate of fear from setting in. If we are controlled by fear, the terrorists will have achieved their goal. That is why measures to allay people's fears are so important. If we manage to control this fear and find ways of dealing with it appropriately, terrorism will lose.

Besides being motivated by security, we need to be fully dedicated to finding solutions that will neutralize the different fear factors. Since September 11, 2001, we have learned a great deal, and the methods we have today to fight terrorism are much more powerful. As a result, I can repeat what I said earlier: it is safe to fly.

As for the future, I think it is crucial for us to continue to focus on developing solutions that are increasingly sophisticated, proactive and collaborative. This is the best way to ensure that passengers have a stress-free travel experience and arrive safely at their destination. Because security is the top priority. But security must have a human face.