Thoughts on Security & Facilitation in Advanced Air Mobility Ahead of ICAO’s First AAM Symposium

Air taxis – or air shuttles – will be a reality by the end of this decade. As early as 2025, perhaps earlier, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) solutions will start operating, offering passengers the possibility to rapidly and sustainably move by air within urban and regional areas, as well as to connect essential services and infrastructures such as airports. While general focus has, so far, been on safety and airspace, the imminent start of operations requires stakeholders to turn to and address other fundamental issues related to air transport. Indeed, while considerable differences in technology and processes in a nascent industry are forcing regulators to think differently about connectivity, certification, air worthiness and air traffic management, little attention has been given so far to how AAM solutions should be regulated when it comes to security and passenger facilitation.

As the AAM community heads to Montreal on September 9-12, 2024, for the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) first AAM Symposium, manufacturers, operators and regulators should tackle one of the sector’s most difficult dilemmas: how to ensure a high level of security without jeopardizing the desired flexibility and seamlessness of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) experience? The AAM ecosystem should avoid strictly mirroring the rules and regulations currently applied to civil aviation. More specifically:

1.     Security requirements should be tailored to the appropriate level of risk of AAM operations: regulators should avoid imposing disproportionate measures on AAM operations. Indeed, these operations will not differ greatly from already existing air mobility concepts, such as helicopter operations. Security in AAM should take into account the specificities of the aircraft itself, of routes, as well as of already existing rules and regulations for similar types of operations. This includes defining rules around the screening of passengers and of cabin baggage that are risk-based and open to innovation. Consideration should also be given to differentiated rules depending on the type of operations/routes given that the level of risk may vary between urban and regional operations. This means looking into multiple approaches to AAM Security depending on vertiports’ location (eg. within an airport’s perimeter; adjacent to an airport; in the city-center; etc.) – and, for instance in Europe, taking into account the EU’s Regulation1254/2009 setting criteria to allow Member States to derogate from the common basic standards on civil aviation security and to adopt alternative security measures.

2.     Vertiport and eVTOL operators should fully endorse self-service and automated solutions throughout the passenger journey: operators should take advantage of new infrastructure projects to incite passengers to use self-service solutions from the start. Mobile check-in should be the norm, with check-in kiosks at vertiports used as back-up solutions and more manual processes as last resort. The deployment and use of check-in counters or self-service bag drop solutions will be necessarily limited at first to take advantage of the fact that initial AAM operations are likely to be restricted to passengers with cabin baggage only. Operators should also consider the use of biometric solutions from the beginning to create a fully integrated and seamless journey for this new type of mobility. This includes deploying Automatic Border Control Gates (ABC Gates) for cross-border operations, as well as emerging mobile solutions, to maximize the use of infrastructure, limit staffing needs and enhance passenger experience.

3.     Operators and authorities should explore today how best to collect and process passenger data for security, facilitation and border control purposes to avoid misunderstandings down the line: based on the evaluation of threats and a thorough risk assessment process, authorities should look into the opportunity of using passenger data in order to implement less stringent security measures like those currently deployed for commercial flights. This could take the form of a digital travel credential (DTC), or a dedicated Trusted Traveler program ensuring at a minimum that passengers are not on any law enforcement lists. With the ongoing digitalization of travel credentials, passengers could be incited to submit biographic – and possibly biometric – information pre-travel to expedite their journey at departure and arrival. In addition, operators could be asked to transfer advance passenger information (API) to authorities for cross-border operations. API could also be used by law enforcement for urban and rural operations. Regardless of approach, the use of passenger data should be closely reviewed, in line with data protection regulations, and the approach openly explained to the traveling public.

4.     Security measures and facilitation requirements in AAM should be outlined at the ICAO level: authorities around the world should work together towards harmonizing their approach to regulating AAM operations –security measures for operators and manufacturers should be consistent globally as to minimize vulnerabilities, to provide coherence for passengers and to ensure a level playing field for AAM manufacturers and operators. Authorities keen on seeing eVTOL operations start soon should indeed resist the temptation to regulate in silos – at the very least, they should strive for global minimum requirements complemented by risk-based more stringent measures (MSM). Requirements for cross-border operations for operators and passengers should also follow a global approach.

At LAM LHA we understand the need to focus on certification and safety, but we also know that security and facilitation are key components to an effective AAM operation. Getting these elements right will separate the winners from the losers when it comes time to attract customers and build a sustainable operation. Need help understanding how to incorporate security and facilitation into your AAM operations? Get in touch: www.lam-lha.com.