Territorial Extent and Application Part 7 – Aviation Security Section 79 Security planning for airports
378.Section 79 deals with the establishment of Risk Advisory Groups (RAGs) and Security Executive Groups (SEGs) at aerodromes, the functions of these groups, and the dispute resolution procedures to be followed in the event of disagreement. It does so by inserting a new Part in the Aviation Security Act 1982. These notes provide a brief overview of the new Part and then consider the individual sections of the new Part in more detail.
379.Aerodromes that will automatically be subject to the new provisions will be those that are the subject of a direction or directions given by the Secretary of State to the manager of the aerodrome in accordance with sections 12,13 or 14 of the Aviation Security Act 1982 (c.36) (ASA). In practice, an aerodrome directed under these sections will be one meeting the qualifying criteria for inclusion in the UK’s National Aviation Security Programme (NASP).
380.Under the new provisions, the manager of the aerodrome will be responsible for the establishment of a RAG. The RAG’s membership will include, as a minimum, a person nominated by the aerodrome manager and a person nominated by the chief officer of police. The manager of the aerodrome also has power to appoint additional members. This power has been conferred in order to allow the manager to appoint such additional persons as he or she considers necessary to allow for the proper consideration of potential risks to the aerodrome. The RAG will then be required to produce a comprehensive risk report, which will include analysis of the potential risks to the aerodrome, and which will make recommendations regarding the actions necessary to successfully mitigate these risks.
381.The risk report produced by the RAG will be submitted to the SEG for their consideration. The SEG’s membership will include, as a minimum, a representative of the aerodrome manager, representatives of the chief officer of police and the police authority for the relevant area and a representative of airlines operating at the airport. The manager of the aerodrome has power to appoint additional persons, representing the interests of different categories of security stakeholders, to the SEG.
382.The SEG will be required to consider the risk report produced by the RAG. They will then determine the security measures to be taken in respect of the airport, and will determine which security stakeholder should deliver each security measure. These decisions will form the content of the Aerodrome Security Plan (ASP), which will formally document the security measures to be taken at an airport, the security stakeholder or stakeholders responsible for their delivery, and the procedures to be used to monitor the implementation of these measures.
383.In the event that the members of the SEG are unable to agree on the terms of an ASP, they may, in certain circumstances, refer the disagreement to the Secretary of State as a dispute. The provisions empower the Secretary of State to make a determination in relation to any disagreement. Parties involved in a dispute will be required to abide by the terms of the Secretary of State’s determination, although in certain circumstances the legislation does provide them with rights of appeal to the High Court.
384.The new sections inserted by section 79 will now be considered in more detail.