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United
Airlines (NYSE:UAL) has announced two major initiatives designed to
further enhance security on board its aircraft for customers, flight
attendants and pilots. United said it will become the first major
airline to install advanced Taser weapon devices in every cockpit on all
its aircraft, subject to relevant approvals from the Federal Aviation
Administration for an appropriate fleet-wide test program. United also
said that after an extensive study of security issues for flight
attendants, it is now ready to introduce a special training program for
all flight attendants.
United will install advanced Taser weapons in electronically-coded lock
boxes on each of its aircraft. The Tasers will be available to pilots in
the event of a hijacking in order to defend the cockpit. The Tasers are
in addition to other new security measures United has taken, including
reinforcement of all cockpit doors in its operating fleet with an iron
bar device.
"United and its pilots believe Tasers are an important addition to
enhanced cockpit security. Tasers will incapacitate an attacker without
endangering the airplane," said Andrew P. Studdert, United Airlines
chief operating officer and executive vice president.
The Taser weapons fire an electronic charge that instantly disables an
attacker, allowing time for them to be restrained. United expects
installation of the Tasers in aircraft cockpits to begin shortly,
subject to United also said today that it will introduce special
training for pilots on cockpit defense, covering use of Tasers.
"United's pilots and flight attendants have provided invaluable input
and feedback to all of our new security measures, processes and
training," said Studdert. "I thank the Air Line Pilots Association and
the Association of Flight Attendants at United for the leadership they
have shown on security issues."
Flight Attendant Training
United said it has now completed a study of security and safety issues
relevant to flight attendants in light of other security programs now in
place.
As a result, the company will begin to roll out the first phase of a
specialized training program for flight attendants designed to enhance
cabin security and provide flight attendants with other skills and
knowledge that can be used to protect themselves, enhance cabin security
and assist customers. Each of United's flight attendants will go through
the new training. The company said it would not comment further on the
new flight attendant training or on pilot training in order to maximize
effectiveness of the programs.
Commenting on the training, Sara Fields, the company's senior vice
president for onboard service said: "We have worked diligently to create
a program that provides our flight attendants with the knowledge and
skills required to ensure their security and safety. We recognize that
this training is only a first step in what will be an evolving process
as we continue to work with aviation security experts, the government
and our own professional flight attendants." |
