Lesson 3 – Topic 1: Security risks and threats to civil aviation

Aviation security risks and threats evolve rapidly and manifest themselves in different forms. Some of the key threats can include:

• “Insider threats” / “known insiders”, presenting potential internal risks to airlines
• Civil unrest impacting aircrew during their layovers away from their home base
• Flights operating in the vicinity of airspace with conflict zones
• Lone-wolf and terrorism incidents compromising security
• Human trafficking, inadequately documented passengers, contraband smuggling are other causes for concern due to their various degrees of risk

It is clear risks cannot be totally avoided or eliminated. However, the goal is to reduce, as far as practicable and reasonable, the possibility of something going wrong and to reduce the potentially negative consequences that may arise as a result. There will always be factors beyond our control or beyond our knowledge such as new terrorist attack methodologies. As a result, everyone faces the inevitable challenge of balancing all the risk management variables to make maximum use of limited time, resources, personnel, and funding.