Professional Pilot, January 2016

International Trip Support Services ITPS COO Phil Linebaugh cautions that operators need to be very careful when it comes to traveling with armed executive protection Landing in a foreign country with undeclared weapons can be one of the worst situations you can get yourself into he warns On a recent GA arrival into the London area a customs official noticed that a passenger was armed The situation went from bad to worse and everyone was detained for 2 hours on arrival including the CEO After some legal rustling the guns were eventually mailed back to the operator in the US If youre carrying any kind of weapons these must be declared in advance when operating internationally For local ground transport its best to use pre vetted private vehicles or licensed taxis arranged by your hotel or ground handler Ensure that hotels and hotel security are the best youre able to find and keep passports and valuables in the hotel safe Do not pay with large bills or count currency in public and try to blend in as much as possible with the local population Avoid idle chatter with taxi drivers and strangers Being vigilant and aware of your surroundings is always important and its also good practice not to draw attention to yourself as this can make you more vulnerable says Carwile Particularly if youre in a minority group take additional steps to avoid being targeted or experiencing cases of hate crime 104 PROFESSIONAL PILOT January 2016 Common sense and basic risk mitigation go a long way in reducing risk exposure If youre using public transport know the schedule and route maps before you go Dont carry your passport around but do carry contact numbers for your handler ISP local police and local embassy consulate Have plan in case you lose your passport or your phone recommends Dixon If your cell phone goes missing do you know how to use local phones with the dialing prefixes required for that particular country Do you know local toll free numbers you can use to get help Maintaining privacy All international travel involves some element of risk The key is to reduce risk variables to a level youre comfortable with One way to avoid being targeted is to operate as anonymously as possible says Kang While operators can use NBAA resources to block aircraft identification on consumer flight tracker programs there are clear risks associated with the growing use of ADS B technology ADS B is an open source technology data is completely unencrypted and there are no lockouts available at this time For about 200 anyone can build an ADS B receiver with a range of some 200 nm Its just a matter of matching tail numbers and or call signs to specific operators As the US has a mandate for ADS B Out implementation by 2020 this may add to growing security concern unless some method of blocking public access to ADS B information is made available Terrorism in the EU The recent terrorist attacks in Paris highlight a growing concern of whether other attacks may still be coming No one can anticipate every threat situation in the EU says Leek But you should always be looking for ways to take control of a situation to better your outcome You therefore must train yourself to always be prepared and never be surprised or clueless as to what is going on in your environment Future trends When planning ops to Europe be aware of the risks and that some are difficult to predict and prepare for Many threats and risk scenarios however can be mitigated with proper pre trip preparation and awareness at destination In lower threat environments be mindful of potential for petty crime mugging and armed robbery There will be larger and more serious risks to consider going forward warns Leek ISIS has a 5 year plan to expand into Europe by mixing with boatloads of refugees and taking advantage of vulnerable targets This poses a major evolving hazard for Europe based on their mobility operational intelligence and access to arms New security methods will need to be adopted and actions taken to prevent looming ISIS threats Business aviation remains by far the safest and most convenient method of moving around the world discretely and securely Research available intelligence for all destinations Keep up on local news and current situations on the ground and have contingency plans ready summarizes Kang Editor at Large Grant McLaren has written for Pro Pilot for over 20 years and specializes in corporate flight department coverage Threats in Europe from pickpockets thieves and common criminals can be mitigated with proper security planning and awareness on the ground However growing threats from terrorists and both Christian and Islamic fundamentalists are more of a wild card and therefore difficult to sidestep