Air Marshal (civil aviation)
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A sky marshal is a covert law enforcement or counter-terrorist agent on board a commercial aircraft to counter aircraft hijackings. Such an agent is also known as an air marshal, a flight marshal, or an in-flight security officer (IFSO). Sky marshals may be provided by airlines such as El Al (who provide sky marshals on every flight), or by government agencies such as the Austrian Einsatzkommando Cobra, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, German Federal Police, National Security Guard in India,
Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
SO19 The Specialist Firearms Command (SCO19) is the firearms unit of the Metropolitan Police Service (Greater London, England). The Command is responsible for providing a firearms-response capability, assisting the rest of the service which is not r ...
(Specialist Firearms Command), Pakistan Airports Security Force or US
Federal Air Marshal Service The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Because of the natur ...
.


History

The history of in-flight security began in March 1962 when the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) directed a program to combat airplane hijackings. In that same year, there were numerous airplane hijackings (all happening one after another) in the United States that were planned with the ultimate aim to fly to Cuba. In response, the FAA created the title of FAA peace officer. FAA peace officers were the first people to provide armed security onboard commercial aircraft.


Australia

In response to the September 11 attacks, the commonwealth instituted an air security officer (ASO) program under the
Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
in December 2001. These officers are generally referred to in the media as "sky marshals". The ASO Programme provides a discreet anti-
hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...
capability for Australian civil aviation by putting armed security personnel on board aircraft. This involves both random and intelligence-led placement of armed ASOs on flights operated by Australian registered air carriers, on both domestic and international flights. Officers are armed, trained and equipped for a variety of situations on both domestic and international flights.


Austria

In Austria, armed air marshals have been provided since 1981 by the Einsatzkommando Cobra.


Canada

The Canadian Air Carrier Protection/Protective Program (CACPP) began on September 17, 2002, when a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with Transport Canada, the authority responsible for Canadian aviation security, and the
Canadian Air Transport Security Authority The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA; french: Administration canadienne de la sûreté du transport aérien) is the Canadian Crown Corporation responsible for security screening of people and baggage and the administration of ide ...
(CATSA), for the implementation and administration of the CACPP. The program is conducted by specially trained undercover armed RCMP officers (known as "aircraft protective officers" (APOs) on selected domestic and international flights and all flights to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Pilots and flight attendants are advised of their presence and the officer is authorized to physically intervene should an unauthorized person attempt to gain control of an aircraft. APOs, however, will not be involved in controlling unruly passengers. While they are peace officers within Canadian territories, they rely on section 6(2) of the Tokyo Convention as a legal basis for intervening in an incident outside of Canadian airspace. By law, such officers are exempt from acquiring a permit for importing or exporting their duty firearms when crossing the border. However, the exact nature of their weaponry is not released to the public except they are "deadly and effective and should not damage the aircraft". The Canadian Forces Military Police members of the Canadian Forces Air Marshal Detail, are responsible for providing security to Canadian forces aircraft, crew and passengers – passengers who may include the governor general, the prime minister and members of the royal family.


India

Sky marshals were introduced by Indian Airlines in December 1999, following the hijacking of
Indian Airlines Flight 814 Indian Airlines Flight 814, commonly known as IC 814, was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India, on Friday, 24 December 1999, whe ...
in Kandahar. Following the September 11 attacks, private operators like Air Sahara also introduced sky marshals on some flights and stated plans to increase these. In 2003, Air India had an agreement with a US directive to have air marshals on all of its US-bound flights. They are recruited from India's elite commando force National Security Guard.
Ipsita Biswas Ipsita Biswas is an Indian terminal ballistics scientist. In 2019 she was conferred India's highest civilian award for women, the Narishakti Puruskar, for her contributions to India's armed forces, paramilitary forces and women's empowerment in ...
of India's Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) were developing frangible bullets which shatter if they hit a substance that is harder than the bullet is. The application would allow their sky marshals to use these bullets to shoot, or threaten to shoot, hi-jackers on board aircraft, with the assurance that the aircraft itself would not suffer substantial damage.


Ireland

Ireland does not have a dedicated sky marshal agency, although there is a
National Civil Aviation Security Committee The National Security Committee (NSC) of Ireland is a secretive inter-departmental committee responsible for ensuring that the Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland) and Government of Ireland are kept informed of high-level national security, in ...
(NCASC). Limited capabilities are provided by the
Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gover ...
emergency response unit An Emergency Response Unit is a name for a law enforcement or other civil government entity that is trained and equipped to respond quickly to emergency situations. In some instances, such a designation is given to a Special Weapons and Tactics uni ...
(ERU), the national police armed tactical unit, and backup may be provided by the counter-terrorism the Garda Special Detective Unit (SDU) and the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) special forces unit in certain situations. The Irish government allows armed flight marshals from the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Israel, Australia and specific European Union (EU) countries onboard international flights landing from or destined for those countries in Irish airspace, once they are informed of their presence beforehand. Weapons carried by an air marshal in Ireland include a concealed handgun, taser, knife and pepper spray.


Israel

Undercover agents carrying concealed firearms sit among the passengers on every international El Al flight. Most El Al pilots are former Israeli Air Force pilots. The cockpits in all El Al aircraft have double doors to prevent entry by unauthorized persons. A code is required to access the doors, and the second door will open only after the first has closed and the person has been identified by the captain or first officer. Furthermore, there are reinforced steel floors separating the passenger cabin from the baggage hold. In April 2013, the Israeli government increased payments to El Al to secure 97.5% of the airline's security costs ahead of the Open Skies agreement to take effect in 2014 with the European Union.


Pakistan

In Pakistan, armed sky marshals are deployed on all flights. Sky marshals are provided by Airports Security Force (ASF). The ASF was established in 1976 under the Airports Security Force Act LXXVII of 1975, initially as the directorate within the Department of Civil Aviation. After the hijacking of a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft in March 1981, sensing the contradictory requirements of security and facilitation, the ASF was separated, and, in December 1983, was placed under the folds of the Ministry of Defence.


Singapore

Singapore Airlines deploys sky marshals on its flights. Such members are armed with firearms loaded with special ammunition and dart-firing stun guns. Members are usually from either the air marshal unit, the security command or the special tactics and rescue (STAR) of the Singapore Police Force. Members have undergone extensive training to enable them to operate effectively within the confines of an aircraft.


United Kingdom

An armed Air Marshal program was begun in the United Kingdom in 2002, in response to growing threats to civilian passenger aircraft. The Metropolitan Police Service Specialist Firearms Command SO19 is tasked with operating the Aircraft Protection Operations (APO) Program, for which all UK Air Marshals report to. The extent and size of the program is relatively unknown as few details are released to the media due to the sensitivity of the operation.


United States

The US Federal Aviation Administration began its sky marshal program in 1968, which eventually became the FAA Federal Air Marshal Program, in 1982; the program later became the
Federal Air Marshal Service The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Because of the natur ...
in January 2002 and after the handover of FAA security duties to the Transportation Security Administration. In 2005,
Rigoberto Alpizar Rigoberto Alpizar (April 17, 1961 – December 7, 2005) was a Costa Rican-born United States citizen who was fatally shot at Miami International Airport by two United States Federal Air Marshals. Alpizar lived in the central Florida town of Mai ...
was shot dead by two sky marshals on a jetway at Miami International Airport. Currently, federal air marshal officers are under the Transportation Security Administration. Under the
Visible Intermodal Prevention Response A Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team, sometimes Visible Intermodal Protection and Response (VIPR) is a Transportation Security Administration program. Various government sources have differing descriptions of VIPR's exact mission. It i ...
(VIPR) system, started around 2005, federal air marshals began to patrol non-aviation sites like bus terminals and train stations.


Fictional references

*The air marshal played by Peter Sarsgaard is a central character in the suspense thriller '' Flightplan'', starring Jodie Foster, Erika Christensen and Sean Bean. *In the movie '' Non-Stop'', the plot revolves around a US air marshal ( Liam Neeson) who is accused of killing passengers while en route from New York to London. *In '' Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'', a US Marshal and his colleague subdue Harold and Kumar after they make threats on board a plane. The plane returns to the US and the two are handed over to Federal police. * In the 2021 Netflix action horror film ''
Blood Red Sky ''Blood Red Sky'' (also known as ''Transatlantic 473'') is a 2021 British-German action crime film, action crime horror thriller film, horror thriller vampire film directed by Peter Thorwarth, who co-wrote the screenplay with Stefan Holtz. The f ...
'', terrorists aboard the fictional Transatlantic Flight 473 from Berlin to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
kill three
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
Bundespolizei air marshals and use their sidearms to take control of the plane.


See also

* Dawson's Field hijackings * Infrastructure Security * Unruly aircraft passenger


Notes


References


External links

{{Commercial air travel Counterterrorism Law enforcement occupations National security