First ANAC facilitation event, FAL Connections focuses on safety and innovation

The National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) held its first facilitation event, FAL Connections, on June 1st and 2nd. In a hybrid format, the projects being developed in the scope of air transport facilitation were presented. During the opening, ANAC’s Head od Department of Airport Infrastructure, Giovano Palma, indicated that facilitation is the connection and the set of efforts of public agencies, airport operators and airlines focused on making the passenger's life easier. The talks from the June 1st panel and the June 2nd panel are available on YouTube.

The event was attended by experts and representatives from Receita Federal do Brasil (RFB), Serviço Federal de Processamento de Dados (Serpro), Secretaria de Aviação Civil (SAC), Empresa Brasileira de Infraestrutura Aeroportuária (Infraero), IATA, Dirección Nacional de Aviación Civil e Infraestructura Aeronáutica (DINACIA), European Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa), Brazilian Airline Association (ABEAR), National Association of Airport Management Companies (ANEAA), and the airline operators Latam and Azul, as well as the Agency’s employees.

In the first day’s lecture cycle, the Civil Aviation Security Branch Manager  Tárik Souza outlined the “History and perspectives of facilitation in air transport”, from a global vision. According to him, “security is the pillar of all air transport” and it is necessary to develop the culture that security must be preserved together with the reflection of what can be facilitated, being two themes that need to act in a coordinated and harmonized way.

The document that underpins facilitation is Annex 9 to the 1949 International Civil Aviation Convention. It discusses entry and exit of aircraft; entry and exit of persons and their baggage; inadmissible persons and deportees; international airports; provisions for specific issues such as facilitation for search, rescue and accident investigation, rescue flights; and passenger data exchange systems.

Some of the activities and projects under development are the internationalization of airports, the + Secure Boarding for Passengers and Crew, the Brazilian Authorized Economic Operator Program (AEO) and Advance Passenger Information (API) and the Passenger Name Record (PNR).

In relation to future projects, the following are planned: the construction of a manual for the internationalization of airports; enabling third-party access to restricted and controlled areas to accompany minors, people with disabilities and the elderly; sharing passenger terminals for international and domestic flights; studying regulatory solutions to combat human and animal trafficking; the use of biometrics for airport employee access to restricted and controlled areas (expanding the use of the tool); and establishing a close line of contact with the health authority.

OEA Program

Started in 2015, the AEO Program consists of the certification, by the Federal Revenue Service, of foreign trade operators that prove compliance with the program's requirements and the granting of trade facilitation benefits related to formalities and procedures in their foreign trade operations. The benefits granted are agility, predictability, services and lower costs. There are two modalities, AEO Security (certification based on security criteria applied to the logistics chain in the flow of foreign trade operations) and AEO Compliance (certification based on criteria of compliance with tax and customs obligations).

The initiative stems from the need to modernize the controls of government agencies at a time when the number of transactions that need to be controlled is increasing and there is a reduction or stagnation in the volume of operational resources and personnel resources in public agencies. By aligning with partner programs, AEO operators can be recognized as lower risk operators for these agencies and these agencies can provide additional facilitation measures for AEO companies.

API and PNR 

In 2021, the 1st version of the Brazilian System of Advance Passenger Information (SISBRAIP) was carried out. The system analyzes and processes Anticipated Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) from domestic and international flights, with the purpose of pointing out travelers who pose a risk to civil aviation security, preventing and reprehending acts of illicit interference in civil aviation, giving agility to airlines to contact passengers to help them with their needs, such as cancelling a flight, and helping Anvisa to monitor infected people, in case of a pandemic like the Covid-19. The tool is integrated with the + Secure Boarding project, which uses biometric passenger records.

+ Secure Boarding

The biometric identifier during boarding aims to bring more security in air transport, increase the efficiency of airport processes through the use of biometrics, and enhance passengers’ travel experience. Currently, biometrics are used only in part of the boarding and disembarkation process. The project’s proposal is to implement biometric validation of passengers’ identity by consulting government databases. And, also, share the information with other agencies interested in early risk assessment, integrating the entire service chain.

The pilot project started in Florianópolis (SC), then in Salvador (BA), Minas Gerais (MG), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brasília (DF) and Ribeirão Preto (SP). Now it is in the implementation phase, and the adhesion of airports and airlines is voluntary. At this moment, the database is being consolidated and the coverage is being expanded. The forecast is that by July of this year it will be in effect at Congonhas and Santos Dumont airports.

New technologies

Amilcar Gonzalez, IATA’s Assistant Director of Security and Facilitation for the Americas, presented the New Experience Travel Technologies (NEXTT) project. This is a joint initiative between IATA and ACI that creates a common vision for the future of air transport to ensure passengers, baggage and cargo are transported with the latest technological developments to improve and simplify elements of the travel journey at the airport.

In NEXTT, there are three main pillars: the passenger experience, use of technologies, and the provision of regulations for these innovations. “We must leverage the use of technologies, strengthen cooperation, travel barrier reduction and other tools to be prepared, to stay competitive and strengthen facilitation and security,” Gonzalez stated.

An example of how new technologies help passengers’ lives is the digital luggage identity, which allows monitoring throughout the trip. It is a useful tool not only for the customer, but for the airport as well. Passengers will be able to choose where to pick up their luggage, whether at the airport or directly at the hotel, for example, through an integrated system.

The Manager of Operations and Passenger Experience of the company Aeropuertos Uruguay Federico Cabrera showed the model of the Carrasco International Airport. In this airport, decision making is based on data, with real-time measurement of the processes that occur in an airport, such as security control, passport, check in, baggage claim, boarding, etc. In addition to biometrics being used throughout the process. “It is much faster and safer,” concluded Cabrera.

One Stop Security 

Part of the Voo Simples Program, which aims to simplify and de-bureaucratize civil aviation, the One Stop Security project was idealized so that passengers don’t have to go through a new inspection in connections in another country. Some of the benefits are passenger welfare, faster connections, less aircraft time on the ground, and lower costs for the operator.

The exemption of connecting passengers and baggage from inspection when there is security equivalence with the origin airport is already provided for in national regulation in the National Program of Civil Aviation Security (PNAVSEC) and in the Brazilian Civil Aviation Regulations No. 107 and 108.

Post-covid-19: lessons learned

In the last round of lectures, an overview was made regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting the strong impact on the airline industry. In addition to the background, the measures that were necessary to lessen the impact on aviation and ensure passenger safety were presented. ANAC had the role of articulating and guiding these measures.

Diana Helena Ferreira, a Civil Aviation Regulation Specialist from ANAC, highlighted some reflections: the greater coordination between ICAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) reflects in better coordination between ANAC and Anvisa; the lack of standardization of procedures among the States generates confusion and goes against facilitation; there is greater predictability regarding public health events in the future; and encouraging the use of innovative technologies and processes is important and necessary, but accessibility should not be forgotten.

According to the Coordinator of Anvisa’s Coordination of Epidemiological Surveillance at Ports, Airports, Borders, and Bonded Areas (COVIG) Cristiano Grégis, there was a wave of misinformation that brought the need for institutional legitimacy. The Coordinator pointed out that some guidelines remain, such as the use of masks, preventing boarding in case of infection with coronavirus, distance, climate control, cleaning, and disinfection.