ICAO APPROVES WORLDWIDE MANDATORY AVIATION SECURITY AUDIT PROGRAM

ICAO APPROVES WORLDWIDE MANDATORY AVIATION SECURITY AUDIT PROGRAM    Member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization recently endorsed a global strategy to strengthen aviation security for cargo and passengers.
   The “Aviation Security Plan of Action,” which includes regulatory and harmonized audits for evaluation of security in place in all 187 ICAO member states, was approved at the end of the two-day, high-level ministerial conference at ICAO headquarters in Montreal. The member states hope the plan will be adopted by mid-June.
   Member states said one intention of the plan is to ensure 'that security measures do not disrupt or impede the flow of passengers, freight, mail or aircraft.”
   The plan also included language that called for identification and development of an effective global response to new and emerging threats to aviation security.
   ICAO said that an indicative cost of this security oversight program is $17 million.