Security (SEC)
Ensuring secure operations for all passengers and crew
Aviation security is built on global Standards developed under the framework of ICAO Annex 17, with an increasing emphasis on risk-based approaches that prioritise the most credible and evolving threats while ensuring proportionate and effective mitigating measures.
Emerging risks such as cyber threats, GNSS interference, and operational hazards associated with conflict zones require adaptive defences, timely information sharing, and coordinated decision-making across the aviation system.
Pilots form a critical part of the security chain, contributing real-time situational awareness that supports the identification and management of dynamic threats. IFALPA plays a key role in representing pilot expertise in relevant ICAO Panels and Working Groups, both at Global and Regional levels, and advocating for practical, operationally effective security measures that strengthen system resilience.
Risk-based Security
GPS Spoofing
Cyber Threats
Flights Into & Over Conflict Zones
Emerging Threats and Security Awareness
The aviation security environment continues to evolve, with threats such as unauthorized flying of drones near airports, laser attacks, MANPADs and GNSS interference posing ongoing risks to civil aviation. Cyber threats targeting aviation systems further underline the need for robust and adaptive security defenses.
IFALPA also addresses concerns related to passenger and cargo screening, unruly behaviour onboard, secondary barriers, in-flight security personnel and facilitation matters. Navigation risks such as GNSS jamming and spoofing reinforce the need for layered mitigation and heightened crew awareness.
Pilots remain essential to detecting and responding to abnormal situations, strengthening the effectiveness of security systems in practice. IFALPA supports this role by advocating for security frameworks that integrate operational realities and ensure that pilot expertise informs global aviation security Standards and Recommended Practices.
Latest Publications
Background Checks for Pilots
In view of the concerns expressed by a number of IFALPA’s Member Associations concerning the arbitrary and sometimes unclear methods
Endangerment of Flight Operationsby Protesters
An increasing number of protest actions have disrupted flight operations through breaches of airport perimeters and Security Restricted Areas, exposing
Cyber Threats
IFALPA and IFATCA have identified the possibility of a cyber-attack against an aircraft, ground facility, or other critical infrastructure to
Harmonized Implementation of the ICAO “4 Levels of Threat” System for Managing Unruly Passenger Events
Unruly passenger events continue to increase worldwide, posing risks to flight safety and security. ICAO’s “4 Levels of Threat” system
Crew Member Security Aspects of an Operator’s Security Programme
Commercial flights are sometimes operated into areas and destinations where the security situation is very difficult to predict. The situation
Meet the Team
SFO Jeroen Kruse
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Captain Kruse flies Boeing 777/787s for KLM, based in Amsterdam. He has been involved in aviation security since 2008, with specific focus on cargo security and cybersecurity. He holds a Master of Science degree in Cognitive Engineering and Artificial Intelligence and is also an ICAO-ECAC Certified Aviation Security Manager.
Capt. Kumar P
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Since his ab-initio training with Singapore Airlines, Captain Kumar P has flown a number of Airbus and Boeing models within the airline and is currently an Instructor on Airbus A330s and A350s, based in Singapore. He joined the ALPA-S Technical Committee in 2000 and is an IFALPA-Accredited Accident Investigator. He has been an active member of IFALPA’s SEC Committee since 2015 and was elected Vice-Chair in 2019.
Capt. Wolfgang Koch
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Captain Koch flies A320s for Delta Airlines, based in Atlanta. He is also a certified turbojet flight engineer, flight instructor, and ground instructor. In 2002 he joined the Northwest Airline ALPA Security Committee, and spent over three years as Chairman of the SEC Committee at Delta Airlines. In 2015, Captain Koch was elected Chairman of ALPA’s SEC Group and joined IFALPA’s SEC Committee, elected Vice-Chair in 2019
Capt. Stacey Jackson
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Captain Jackson flies B737s NG/MAX for WestJet, based in Toronto, Canada. She is an IFALPA-Accredited Accident Investigator, an Accident Investigation course Instructor and a member of the Accident Investigation Board (AIB) for ALPA International. She also serves as Vice-Chair of the Accident Investigation and Response Committee for the WestJet ALPA MEC. She is a Subject Matter Expert in Human Factors and is completing a PhD in Aerospace with a focus in emergency egress and cabin safety centered design.