26th AVSEC World Conference

Date: 14 November 2017 - 16 November 2017

Location:
Jumeirah at Etihad Towers
West Corniche
Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

Website: www.iata.org/events/avsec/Pages/index.aspx

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +1 5148 740 202

Now in its 26th year, AVSEC World continues to unite professionals in the security sphere to discuss current issues and actions to be taken to manage risks in the aviation industry today. However, the aviation security environment and challenges are changing rapidly and it is essential for all stakeholders, including airlines, airports or government authorities to engage proactively and work together in a shared responsibility. This year’s event in Abu Dhabi will be the platform for these discussions. Through interactive panels, debates and workshops, here is a preview of some hot topics that will be discussed.

In recent years, many in the aviation security community have echoed the phrase “information sharing”. No doubt this concept is incredibly important as there are multiple industry stakeholders operating in this evolving and complex environment. It may sound simple, but there was never, and may never will be, a common understanding on how to execute this. The most recent example was highlighted in this years United States and United Kingdom ban on large portable electronic devices (PEDs) in hand luggage for flights to the US and UK from selected countries. Although the ban was lifted, there was very limited consultation with the industry in the co-design of additional measures. This raises the question of “What threat information do we share? With whom? To what degree? The role of industry recognised as partners in the aviation security overlay.

Along with information sharing, the topic of threat and risk will also be featured in this year’s event. Whether it’s new threats or recycled form of previous threats; landside attacks, insider threats and PEDs are all still fresh on aviation security professional’s mind. The event will attempt to draw new trends in the evolution of threat. With this in mind, risk management and risk appetite could also evolve along with the threats. In last year’s AVSEC World, the idea of leveraging safety risk acceptance on to security was introduced, with the evolving threat would this be a good approach? What risk management solutions are available? This will be answered at this year’s event as well. 

Aside from conventional threat vectors for aviation security, cyber threat and risks have been a hot topic of discussion recently. From airlines, to airports, ANSPs to regulators, questions are asked just what the real risks are with regard to aviation and who should be taking the lead in driving this topic. This year’s conference will attempt to start providing answers to the question on cyber via an interactive debate.

Although there are challenges which remains to be solved, there have been several new developments at both global level and regional level as well, The Riyadh Declaration 2016 and the ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP) are just two examples of the new progress the industry is making. But as those in attendance last year would recall, there were several conclusions from the last AVSEC World.

With the challenge continuing to mount in new threats and attacks not going away, have the regulators and the industry done enough to progress? What is new on the radar now? The discussion during last year’s event shaped several key conclusion, all of which will be reviewed at the beginning and new conclusions will be formed this year based on new discussions. What have the community done since last year and what will be concluded this time? Join us in Abu Dhabi to find out.

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