Aviation Security Crisis Management Training for Haiti

In a significant development, the CICTE Secretariat and Haiti’s National Airports Authority (AAN) hosted the first Aviation Security Training Program course in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 25-29, 2009:  a five-day training workshop on Crisis Management Response conducted by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA).  Although the Secretariat has regularly offered scholarships for Haitian representatives to attend CICTE training in other countries, this Aviation Security course was the first ever conducted by the Secretariat inside Haiti itself with the government of Haiti.

The Crisis Management Workshop was designed to provide mid to senior-level aviation-management and other government officials with the knowledge and skills needed to develop and implement sound crisis management procedures in accordance with the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).  Subjects included: crisis management concepts; crisis management planning; role of the crisis management team; crisis management facilities and crisis management exercises.  The training was highly interactive and utilized many case studies, interactive discussions and comprehensive exercises to illustrate effective crisis management concepts and principles.

The Secretariat hopes that this would be only the first of a series of programs designed to assist AAN in strengthening its capacity.  Another course in Tourism Security is being planned for Port-au-Prince in August 2009.