It is one of the duties of a Regional Officer Aviation Security (AVSEC) and Facilitation (FAL) to support States in their preparation for an USAP-CMA audit. At the request of the CAA of Israel and the Israeli Security Agency, an audit preparation visit was organized from 2 – 6 March 2020. In preparing the visit with the National Coordinator it was clarified that the audit preparatory visit cannot be conducted in format of a pre-audit where the RO AVSEC/FAL evaluates the current AVSEC situation in the State, does an assessment and provides advice and suggestions for improvement.
Instead the audit preparation visit was targeting the understanding and use of the USAP- CMA website, the ICAO guidance material available, and the use of the USAP-CMA Protocol Questions related to Annexes 17 and 9 (audited standards) requirements to ensure that the National Coordinator is aware of the prerequisites, understands the components of the audit and can share respectively with all involved entities. As a good practice during such audit preparation visit, time was also dedicated to meet with all parties involved during the audit (e.g. airport, air carriers, handling agent, police, FAL responsible people in the CAA, ATM etc. …), so the RO AVSEC/FAL has the opportunity to explain the audit process. In Israel, the preparatory visit contributed to a better understanding of the USAP-CMA audit as a process which provides States with the opportunity to re-evaluate their security measures implemented. The audit preparation visit for Israel was an excellent example of fruitful work and well-functioning collaboration between a State and the RO AVSEC/FAL.
Israel welcomed the visit of the ICAO EUR/NAT AVSEC officer to prepare the USAP-CMA audit. The visit contributed a lot to a better understanding of the structure of the audit, how it is carried out, the early material aspects and the understanding and preparation of the National Coordinator’s role.
The briefing to all the bodies involved in an audit was helpful and gave them an excellent explanation of the purpose of the audit and what is expected of them in practice.
More information on the USAP- CMA https://www.icao.int/Security/USAP/Pages/default.aspx
