By Claude Mills, Staff ReporterTHERE WILL be a meeting between members of the National Aviation Safety Committee and the Ministry of Transport next week to examine a request from the United States Department of Homeland Security to have air marshals placed on some flights flying in and over the US.
A source at the Ministry of Transport, who requested anonymity, confirmed yesterday that the meeting would be held next Wednesday but could not give details on what the agenda would entail.
The source, however, noted that issues such as cost implications, personnel recruitment concerns, and whether laws will have to be amended to accommodate the request would be placed firmly on the table.
Major Oscar Derby of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), who is deputising on behalf of Terrence Lewis, Director General of the CAA, claimed that more time would be needed to work out the details of how the new US laws would affect local authorities, but confirmed that local law enforcement officers would be used.
"Some people think it is the US marshals, but it is not the US marshals who will be on board the planes, the marshals will come from the countries in question," Major Derby ex-plained.
The United States is seeking to ensure that other countries enforce a new American requirement placing armed law enforcement officers on some flights to prevent hijackings. Some of the new requirements are that armed government officers from the country of the airline's ownership must be aboard, and must be equipped to prevent anyone from reaching the plane's cockpit and must be equipped to communicate with the crew.
"We have sought additional information from the US authorities, and we expect a response from them soon in the coming days," said Gilbert Scott, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security.
Captain Keith White, president of the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association (JALPA), admitted that he had not yet been contacted by the Ministry of Transport regarding the new US directive.
"We haven't seen the regulations yet, I have been told that the Ministry would be sending the regulations out tomorrow, but at this point, we cannot really comment on the situation, until we find out what the Department of Homeland Security is really saying," he said.
When pressed about the position of JALPA as it pertains to armed security personnel on board an aircraft, Captain White commented: "I'd prefer not to have armed people on board our aircraft."
