What's Coming Up for APSA!

The Airline Pilots Security Alliance was started by a group of Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) pilots who were dissatisfied with ALPA's lack of support for arming airline pilots.  In only four years, we have grown to be the largest dedicated airline security organization in the world!  APSA now represents tens of thousands of pilots, flight attendants, air marshals and members of the public, from across the globe!  We serve flight and cabin crews from every U.S. major airline and many international carriers.  We are well-known as a nonpartisan, straight-talking, singularly responsive organization with no second agendas.  Our only goal is to ensure our passengers travel in complete safety from those who would commit acts of air piracy aboard our airliners!

We pride ourselves on the fact that none of our members or leaders receives ANY compensation for the work we do and 100% of every dollar (or Euro, or Renmimbi) our members contribute, goes directly toward improving airline security!  Our leadership and consultants team now includes pilots, air marshals, psychologists, flight attendants, tactical trainers, international security experts, aviation consultants, and aviation and government attorneys -- all of whom are still active professionals in their own careers, and all singularly dedicated to making certain 9/11 never happens again!  Every one of our people still works on the frontlines every day!  We are you!  We are nonpartisan, non-bureaucratic and have no political obligations.  In short, we are free to serve the people we promised to serve, unencumbered.

APSA is frequently asked for consultation, guidance, opinion and information on aviation security by Congressional offices, media, government and individual pilots' and flight attendants' associations.  We provide support services for Federal Flight Deck Officers and air marshals, flight and cabin crews and airline passengers, both as a group, and individually.

APSA has been instrumental in proffering new aviation security legislation in Congress.  In 2004, we worked in a nonpartisan manner with Congress to put forth the Cockpit Security Technical Corrections Act to improve the Federal Flight Deck Officer Program.  We are continuing to develop new legislation, relationships with decision makers and initiatives to better allocate scarce security resources to maximize our passengers’ protection.

APSA’s greatest challenge has been in managing our rapid growth.  We came out of the gate with the jockey still trying to get strapped in, at a full gallop, only a few weeks after 9/11.  Since then, we have been at a full sprint, writing legislation, lobbying, conducting media interviews and events, revenue generation, membership services, web development and staff increases, all while managing full-time careers and personal lives.  We remain profoundly grateful to the most supportive, reactive, motivated membership an organization could dream of!

In 2005, we critically needed to reconfigure APSA for a marathon, not a sprint.  We have spent months building new relationships, developing new legislation, designing a new, much more robust web presence, attending Homeland Security functions, and talking to decision makers.

We temporarily reduced our member communications in 2005 to reduce expenditures as we simply won't spend a dollar unless there is a significant chance it will benefit our members; and we did not see a significant opportunity in 2005 to that end.  This does not mean we have not been active behind the scenes.  We are now ramping up for new initiatives into 2006!  We DO see opportunity ahead!

APSA intends to be nothing less than a worldwide organization that will change the face of airline security as we know it; providing REAL solutions, instead of the appearance of protection, as well as to become the primary industry representative for Federal Flight Deck Officers!

Our new website is one of the most robust, cutting edge web development products on the Internet!  It will dramatically improve our outreach!  Www.secure-skies.org now contains a wealth of information on security threats, lapses, breaches, assessments and evaluations, for Congress, media, aviation professionals and the public.  We have a dedicated area for aviation professionals, and resources for training, equipment and support services to enhance aviation security.  Our QSAR incident database assists the government by directly collecting suspicious reports from flight and cabin crews.  We now have the ability to pod cast and will soon inaugurate video presentations!  We encourage you to spend some time exploring it -- there's really a staggering amount of information there!

Starting December 1, 2005, we increased our support for our membership and inaugurated our organizational foundation for the future.  There are 90,000 airline pilots in the country and we want ALL of them to be APSA members!  A lobbying force of 90,000 professionals will be impossible for our policymakers to ignore!  We are investigating secure online forums for the use of pilots, flight attendants, FFDOs, FAMs, etc., as well as liability and terrorist attack insurance for our members.  Our retail operations will offer a wealth of new products to support the FFDO program and aviation security, as well as improve public awareness of Federal Flight Deck Officers, and will allow for building the community of FFDOs.

We will also improve our relationships with corporate donors and high-net worth individuals to reduce the financial burden on individual members who have provided so much support to us over the past few years; as well as to dramatically increase our resources for larger projects.

We have already improved our interaction with air marshals' organizations, political groups that share our security concerns, and other aviation associations and airline unions, and will continue to do that in the future.  We hope to lead a "coalition of the willing" to improve airline security, recognizing that disparate groups' concerns can be effectively addressed through shared communication.  Coordinating an event where thousands of aviation professionals and law enforcement officers simultaneously speak out about security failures and government incompetence would be a powerful warning to the American people that not nearly enough has been done to protect them -- and their tax dollars are being wasted!

Finally, APSA intends to become the "go-to group" for all airline security concerns.  As the only single-issue aviation security organization of airline professionals, we have no other interests or efforts to distract us from our goals.  We can, therefore, supply other unions and associations with critical manpower and information to carry their concerns forward in a manner they cannot themselves, as well as share others' issues with the community of aviation professionals and government decision-makers.

As always, APSA relies on the generosity of its members to represent them.  Membership is free, but it's not cheap!  We do not spend a dollar unless it will benefit our members and we have always tried to give our members a good return on their money!  And it's going to be an even bigger return in the future!

Please join us!  And ask your colleagues to do the same!  With your help, support and communication, we can get there together!  Airline pilots, flight attendants and air marshals, are frontline soldiers in the war on terrorism!  We are the first responders for new 9/11's!  Yet, years after the attacks, we desperately lack the tools to defend ourselves and our passengers effectively when the unthinkable happens again!  Terrorists continue efforts to hijack commercial airliners and the clock is ticking!  Be able to say you are part of the solution before the unthinkable happens again!