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Notiziario Marketpress di
Giovedì 24 Giugno 2004
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Pagina1 |
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AIR SECURITY: COMMISSION DECIDES ON STAFF SCREENING IN SECURITY RESTRICTED AREAS AT EU AIRPORTS |
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Brussels, 24 June 2004 - The Commission adopted new legislation establishing a common definition of critical parts of security restricted areas at Eu airports. The purpose is to oblige, for the first time, airport staff to undergo security screening checks when entering security-sensitive zones of airports. "This is another key step in enhancing security for flights departing from Eu airports. Not only is this measure raising standards across the Eu as a whole, but it is also pioneering high standards internationally in this domain. It is right and proper that airport staff should undergo at least the same levels of security checks as passengers”, said Vice President Loyola de Palacio. The new Commission Regulation aims at defining what parts of an airport should be deemed as ”critical parts” for the purposes of higher levels of security. All staff entering such security-sensitive areas would be required to be screened. In the view of the Commission critical parts should at least include those areas of an airport containing screened departing passengers and their cabin baggage, and screened departing hold baggage that has not been sealed. Where bags have been sealed in such a way as to prevent their being interfered with, they then may be handled by unscreened staff. This definition does not seek to fix rigidly areas in a uniform way at all airports. Rather, it allows for a flexible approach both in time and in space, where the critical part is viewed as a moving envelope around the screened passengers and screened baggage as they proceed to the aircraft. This approach will allow more flexibility based on operational needs, whilst still requiring that the integrity of previously-performed security checks is maintained. This flexibility will especially enable smaller airports to meet obligations for critical parts in ways that are not over-prescriptive and so rigid as to seriously affect operations. Member States will have a maximum of 5 years to apply the Regulation in full. The measure will make the European Union countries amongst the few in the world that lay down stringent staff screening requirements for airport staff.
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