Where can I report an airport security flaw / weakness?
I have just come back from a short trip to Italy and I was shocked to find some very lacking security practices at the airport I used to leave the country. I'm sure the things I noticed are all "personal" skills and wouldn't be due to lack of financial means or something similar. That's why I would like to report this somewhere.
It turns out this is somewhat diffcult to google, mainly because of the report part.
So in general, for all airports: Is there a specific site where I can leave a hint? Is it even sensible to report something like this or should I let them be?
I know levels of security can vary from airport to airport as was touched on in this question but there are mandatory standards, right? What can I do if I find a violation of those?
Best Answer
I suggest that you drop an email to the Italian Civil Aviation Authority, ENAC; their contact details appear here. They carry the legal authority above whoever runs the airport. They are required by ICAO to ensure that the level of aviation security is sufficient, as dictated by Annex 17:
3.4 Quality Control
3.4.4 Appropriate authorities must develop, implement and maintain a quality control programme to determine compliance of the programme.
3.4.7 Managements setting of priorities and organization of the quality control programme will be carried out as an independent entity.
I don't generally think the airport will have that great ambition or routines to improve their own procedures, especially when it is a part of the airport operator itself. If it's approved, it's alright: Retraining costs money and is time-consuming. The consequences of non-compliance are seldom if ever visible.
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Answer 2
No need to report in anywhere. If you really believe the security flaw is real and can be exploited for nefarious uses, simply publish it anonymously online (ideally through TOR) on an aviation-themed website and it will be probably be fixed within a few days. Unless the problem is so bad it literally lets you board a plane with explosives in your bag, it probably won't cause any issues while it's within the public view.
Publicity is the quickest way of closing security loopholes, unless the overseeing organization specifically encourages to report security flaws and is known for quickly reacting to such reports. A random airport in Italy is probably not that kind of an organization.
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