Who will take care of aviation security?

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and ACV have been arguing about who will run aviation security forces at airports. The Ministry of Transport (MOT) is collecting opinions from relevant parties on the issue.

In order to reorganize the aviation security force, CAAV has submitted to MOT a plan to set up a 100 percent state-owned company for ensuring aviation security. 

The company, belonging to MOT, would inherit the tasks, personnel, head office and equipment from the existing three aviation security centers and would be managed by CAAV.

The state management body has also suggested another plan – transferring all the things related to aviation security as mentioned in Plan 1 to airport authorities and merging airport authorities’ security control divisions into one unit.

CAAV prefers the second plan because, with it, the task of ensuring aviation security will be undertaken by a state agency. This is in line with the international tendency of tightening air control amid religious conflicts and illegal intervening activities.

“Air security is part of national security, and it will be reasonable if this is ensured by the state, not an enterprise,” CAAV said.

According to CAAV’s head Lai Xuan Thanh, under current laws, the aviation security force was permitted to be equipped with military weapons after the terrorist attacks at airports in Belgium, Turkey and China.

“There is no precedent for allotting military weapons to a joint stock company,” Thanh said.

Meanwhile, ACV does not want to let it go. ACV has proposed to MOT to keep the current situation, warning that reorganization in accordance with one of the two plans suggested by CAAV would affect airport exploitation.

ACV argues that airport exploitation requires a ‘closed and comprehensive’ chain, of which aviation security force is a link and plays a very important role.

ACV, when planning its IPO (initial public offering), stated that it would maintain the aviation security force. This is expected to bring 6-8 percent of total revenue to the company.

Therefore, if the aviation security force is transferred to other agencies, this will badly affect investors’ decisions because it does not fit the approved equitization plan.

Meanwhile, CAAV warned that if the state allows equitization of the aviation security force, this will affect aviation security.

“The purpose of any business, especially a joint stock company, is making profit,” CAAV said. 

Analysts agree with CAAV that aviation security must be ensured by the state. In other countries, aviation security forces belong to the police.