As British authorities were swooping down on the suspects, AOPA was announcing an updated Airport Watch program, which it developed with the TSA. As AOPA’s Chris Dancy told AVweb in our Friday audio news interview, the revised program stresses each pilot’s role in prevention and protection of his or her aircraft from use for nefarious purposes. Dancy also told AVweb it’s vital that pilots remember to report any suspicious activity, something that might spike in the wake of the British arrests. Meanwhile, EAA is reassuring pilots that, in practical terms, nothing has changed since last week. “To the best of EAA’s knowledge, none of these developments directly affect general aviation, and the heightened security procedures are not directed at GA operations,” said an EAA news release. “However, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) did issue target=”_blank”> an advisory to GA operators (charter, air cargo, corporate, and GA) that reiterates established security measures.” The threat level for airliners flying to and from Britain is at red, the highest, and for domestic flights it’s at orange.
GA Not Affected — Yet?
Key Takeaways:
- AOPA, with the TSA, updated its Airport Watch program to emphasize pilots' roles in preventing aircraft misuse and reporting suspicious activity.
- EAA reassures general aviation (GA) that recent security developments and heightened procedures do not directly target GA operations, though TSA issued an advisory reiterating existing security measures.
- Security threat levels are elevated, with airliners flying to and from Britain at red (highest) and domestic flights at orange.
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