Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
CARICOM to bring back single security checks
Noting that CARICOM nationals go through the inconvenience of multiple security checks along the duration of their flights, the Caribbean Community’s Secretary General, Irwin LaRocque, said that the organisation is working to re-introduce single security checks.
Speaking at the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO)’s Air Transport Meeting last Wednesday, Ambassador LaRocque said that the community will soon see direct transit passengers on multi-stop, intra-community flights.
He said that this will no doubt be a “welcome initiative for regional travelers.”
CARICOM had once implemented singular security checks during the ICC Cricket World Cup of 2007, when the region was hosting the tournament. But intra-regional travelers now face security checks throughout the duration of their travel.
CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin LaRocque
LARocque told the meeting that the regional policy will be implemented under the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS). CASSOS was launched in 2009 at the CARICOM Secretariat, and has been used to facilitate the development of the regional aviation sector, through training, resource-sharing, and harmonization of policies and procedures.
He also said that a consultancy has been launched to form a Regional Airlift Policy and Strategy, with technical reviews and analytical work. He said that the policy’s objective is to minimise differences between aviation sectors across the region, for the betterment of air transport liberalization.
The ambassador said that the actions being taken by CARICOM are not just for the betterment of the region’s domestic travel, but with a view to develop global tourism links for the benefit of the region’s tourism product.
In attendance at the air transport meeting were over 150 ministers, officials and high ranking delegates from states and organizations from the Caribbean, Africa, America, Canada and Singapore. The ICAO held the meeting to discuss removing regulatory impediments on air transport between CARICOM and African states.
Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union Commission, said that the African Union is deliberating on how to promote air transport across the region, and that the Declaration of the Global African Diaspora Summit expresses Africa’s desire for continental integration and connectivity for Africans in the diaspora. She said that, by 2050, the African population will be about 2.5 billion, and that CARICOM and the African Union will need to create conducive environments for investment between the African continent and CARICOM states, in anticipation of the regions’ growth.
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