Use Airlines Safety KPI to Improve Security Protocols

As a response to the tragedy which is now notoriously known as the "9/11 attacks", the United States Department of Transportation and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had to immediately implement changes in air travel regulations to tighten the security of both airports and aircrafts. In fact, many airlines had to decrease the number of their daily flights in compliance with the new regulations. Since then, various changes have been made to make aviation standards tougher. These had been a cause of concern for all companies belonging to the airline industry. Airlines safety KPI or key performance indicators are often used by these companies to determine if their security protocols are at par with standards.

Generally, airline companies provide air transport services for transportation of items or passengers. Some of these companies own their aircrafts while others just lease them. Services by airlines are categorized as intracontinental, intercontinental, or domestic, depending on the type of operation that they do. Just like airports, airlines are also mandated to observe security measures or procedures so as to provide protection for passengers when they are aboard aircrafts. The concept of "airline security" particularly refers to all security procedures and infrastructure that are used to prevent security problems in aircraft. This concept is somewhat related to the concept of "airport security." The primary difference between both is that the latter is more concerned about security protocols observed in airports.

Even before the 9/11 attacks, airline security had already been a major issue in the aviation industry due to the number of hijack situations that had occurred through the years. Another airline security problem is the probability that a passenger or an airline crew may take suicidal actions while on air. In response to these threats, airlines have made it a priority to train their employees on how to handle hijack scenarios and other life-threatening situations. After 9/11, the United States Congress had enacted laws in an effort to boost airline security. One of the more controversial of which is the law that allows aircraft pilots to carry handguns for their personal safety. After all, an attempt on the life of a pilot while an aircraft is on air is synonymous to an attempt on the lives of all aircraft passengers. Moreover, $250 million has been allocated by Congress to make cockpit doors of commercial aircrafts more secure.

The airline industry is one of the most customer-sensitive industries in the world. Also, the profitability of airline companies may be drastically affected by external factors that they do not have control of like weather disturbances. Keeping airline security protocols at par with set standards is also a major concern for these companies because money would have to be spent to accomplish them. It is for this reason that they regularly evaluate implemented safety measures to ensure that these are effective and not just a waste of financial resources. For evaluation purposes, several airlines use predetermined airlines safety KPI to indicate efficiency or inefficiency of assessed security protocols.