Aviation is much safer than before the 11 September 2001 attack, but the media’s reaction can force legislation to be over the top, says The International Air Cargo Association’s (TIACA) secretary general, Doug Brittin (left to right, Doug Brittin and Enno Osinga).
Brittin made the comments at the International Air Transport Association’s World Cargo Symposium, held in Shanghai (China) last week. In a discussion called, Terrorism is a failed brand, with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol senior vice president for cargo, and TIACA vice chairman, Enno Osinga, he says legislators do not necessarily understand cargo.
Brittin says: “There is no doubt the risk level is higher than 15 years ago, we have changed the way we communicate. The Yemen bomb plot was all over the news.”
He says that dramatic media reactions lead to over the top legislation, which industry pays for, adding, “politics is a hindrance.” According to Brittin, security has increased significantly since the 2001 terrorist attacks and so have the costs as more needs to be invested in areas such as screening and training, which he says can be, “onerous and cumbersome.”
