Audit, Planning Money Budgeted…
It seems like lots of people talk about GA security but the state of Virginia is actually doing something about it. The state legislature is expected to pass $1.5 million in funding for a statewide audit of security planning and procedures at each of the 59 airports it certifies. Now, $1.5 million wouldn’t cover the cost of a single baggage scanner at a major airport, but Charles Mcfarlane, Virginia’s director of aviation, said the budget will go a long way toward implementing basic security measures at GA airports. “What’s not appropriate is doing nothing,” he said. Mcfarlane added that the measures must be kept in context with the level of risk. “I don’t think the primary threat is a general aviation airport. But even a remote possibility that an airplane could be used in an attack suggests we should have minimum standards.” He noted that many small airports in Virginia are only a few minutes of flying time from Washington, D.C. If the worst does happen, he said, the public would have the right to ask if the state had done anything to prevent it.
