ICAO Aviation Security Week 2026 continued with a panel session entitled “25 Years On: The Global State of Aviation Security.”

The discussion focused on emerging challenges to global aviation security and the industry’s preparedness to address future threats.

Over the past 25 years, the global aviation security system has undergone a significant transformation. However, technological advances, the emergence of new types of threats, and increasingly complex aviation operations require traditional approaches to be reassessed.

The session featured Musayeroh Barrie, Director General of the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority, and Sonia Hifdi, Deputy Director for Aviation Security, Cybersecurity and Facilitation, and Acting Director of the ICAO Air Transport Bureau.

The session was moderated by Bernard Lim, Senior Director, Security Policy and Emergency Preparedness, Ministry of Transport, Singapore.

Other participants included Goker Kose, Chief Executive Officer of Almaty International Airport; Vladimir Chertok, Adviser, Federal Authority for Transport Oversight, Russian Federation; Jane Nakimu, Manager Aviation Security, Facilitation Policy and Regulation, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA); Eric Yatar, Executive Director for International Policy Programs Policy Plan, and Engagement, the United States of America; and Michele Merkle, Director of the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau.

The central question was how to shift from responding to threats to anticipating and preventing them. Participants explored the potential of strategic foresight, intelligence-informed risk assessment, and stronger cooperation between government authorities and aviation industry stakeholders.

The complexity of today’s challenges was highlighted by the Aviation Security, Facilitation Policy and Regulation Manager at the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority.

“Today, aviation security requires not only an effective response to emerging threats, but also the ability to anticipate them in advance. New technologies and increasingly complex aviation operations present new challenges. This makes international cooperation, the timely exchange of information, and joint efforts to strengthen the aviation security system particularly important,” D. Nakimu emphasized.

Participants stressed the need to adapt existing aviation security mechanisms to emerging technological challenges and ensure that states are prepared for potential threats.

The outcomes of the discussion are expected to help identify priority areas for international cooperation and lay the groundwork for further consideration of the strategic challenges facing aviation security in the years ahead.