After some of its recent general aviation security proposals were met with opposition from pilots and legislators, the Transportation Security Administration is reaching out to industry groups to better understand concerns of the GA community.
AOPA and other industry groups participated in a research focus group designed to help the TSA understand the GA community and its perspective on security issues Oct. 28. The TSA has hired a firm to host this and other focus groups to provide recommendations for improving the agency’s relationship with the GA community.
The group discussed methods of bridging the gap between the TSA and GA, including AOPA’s Airport Watch and the TSA’s GA SECURE hotline. Airport Watch uses the aviation community to serves as the eyes and ears of airports, and pilots can call the hotline (866/GA-SECURE) to report suspicious activity.
The firm plans to hold more focus groups as part of the TSA’s outreach campaign, and AOPA will continue to provide knowledge and background to ensure the campaign results in security policies that work for GA.
