Airport security Text Dick Meijaard Photography PMT, MAA
Maastricht Aachen Airport – a fully compliant airport European Union regulation number 300/2008 of 29 April 2008 sets out the basic standards for the security of civil aviation in the Member States. It also sets out the requirements for government supervision of these standards. Each Member of the European Union must draw up a National Civil Aviation Security Program (NCASP) setting out how aviation security is organised in its country. In the NCASP the Ministry of Justice and Security documents among other things, that the airport operator must stipulate how the local security system at the airport is organised. Maastricht Aachen Airport is therefore also obliged to stipulate how tasks and responsibilities are shared between the government, Maastricht Aachen Airport (MAA) and private security organisations, how the NCASP security measures are implemented at MAA and record the associated procedures and work instructions.
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t MAA various commercial and public activities take place. The primary task flowing from the above-mentioned regulation, in light of so-called public interest, concerns looking after the security of and on/at the airport. Various security tasks are undertaken at the airport to ensure security. These security measures can be distinguished between preventative and repressive tasks: • Preventative security measures: preventing forbidden objects entering the restricted area and/ or the aircraft by checking passengers, their hand luggage and checked luggage. The checking of staff and any goods accompanying them, tools and other materials, at the entrance to the restricted area. • Repressive security measures: following up of any infringements by the government.
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The Minister of Justice and Security is responsible in the Netherlands for the security of civil aviation. In 2002 the government decided to hand the preventative security measures over from the Royal Military Police to the airport operator and therefore since 1 April 2003 both planning and control have been carried out by Maastricht Aachen Airport. Operational preventative measures are performed by private security services.