Plane Spotting
British Airport Authority (BAA) and London's Metropolitan Police Service to encourage enthusiasts to report suspicious activity around the airport.
By Todd Datz
August 01, 2004 — CSO — It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...a terrorist? That's what aviation enthusiasts, also known as plane spotters, might be pondering at London's Heathrow Airport these days. U.K.-based LAAS International, one of the world's largest aviation enthusiast clubs, has an arrangement with the British Airport Authority (BAA) and London's Metropolitan Police Service to encourage enthusiasts to report suspicious activity around the airport.
Plane spotting got its start in the United Kingdom around the outbreak of World War II, when the British government asked citizens to spend their nights in dugouts looking for enemy aircraft, says David Seex, chairman of LAAS International. After the war ended, watching aircraft remained a hobby. But raised security awareness after 9/11 made airport authorities leery of letting people hang out on the perimeters of airports. Sensing a major blow to his members' pursuits, Seex wrote to the Metropolitan Police with an idea: Rather than outlaw plane spotters, why not enlist them in the war against terrorism? "At any one time, there are usually more aviation enthusiasts around an airport perimeter than police," he says.
The police, as well as the BAA, liked the idea and worked out the agreement with LAAS that commenced earlier this year. Those who want to take part must purchase an identity card for 15 pounds and agree to a code of conduct that requires cardholders to report suspicious behavior, as well as perform mundane tasks such as picking up litter. What's to prevent someone with ill intent from signing up for a card? "We have a vetting process. To obtain a card, a person has to provide a copy of their passport or identity card. They also have to prove where they live and that they have been a member of a bona fide aviation society or club in the previous 12 months," Seex says.
Seex is trying to spread the word to airports inside and outside of the United Kingdom. He says police forces in Switzerland have launched a similar scheme and that Orlando, Fla., is now asking its enthusiasts to provide a copy of their passports and to report anything out of the ordinary around the airport's perimeter.
Read more about critical infrastructure in CSOonline's Critical Infrastructure section.
Other stories by Todd Datz
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