IFALPA strongly condemns terrorist attacks at Istanbul International Airport

MONTREAL, Canada – The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) strongly condemns the terrorist attacks at Istanbul international airport, which follow the attacks at Brussels airport on the 22nd of March. On behalf of the more than 100,000 pilots we represent and our entire profession, our thoughts and sympathies are with the colleagues, friends and families of those innocent travellers and airport workers whose lives have been cruelly taken.

These attacks confirm that airport landside areas, in particular terminal facilities, remain an attractive target for terrorists due to their vulnerability as a public area where large numbers of people, often with identifiable nationalities, are known to congregate at predictable times. States and Operators should prioritise the prevention of such attacks, and do everything in their power to enhance security measures at airports.

IFALPA and its Member Associations around the globe are continually examining aviation security issues. We are working with Governments, airlines, and airport operators to protect air crews, passengers and staff and implement deterrence and mitigation measures against these kinds of attacks and other security threats.

IFALPA will continue to raise security matters with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to ensure that international Standards and Recommended Practices provide the necessary basis for the highest security regulations worldwide. Annex 17 to the

Convention on International Civil Aviation, calls for States to:

• ensure that security measures in landside areas are established to mitigate the risk of and to prevent possible acts of unlawful interference in accordance with national and local risk assessments carried out by the relevant authorities; and

• ensure coordination of landside security measures between relevant departments, agencies, other organizations of the State, and other entities, and identify appropriate responsibilities in national civil aviation security programs.

International air travel is a benefit to global economies and a primary means by which understanding and tolerance of the different cultures and peoples around the world are increased and improved. Those who attack aviation do so, in part, to undermine this process of greater understanding and togetherness which is a hallmark of human civilisation. IFALPA and the professional pilots it represents will never falter in our determination to provide the safest, most secure civil aviation system we can, to the benefit of humanity and the economies of the world.