Termination of DHS Aviation Security Advisory Committee

The Trump Administration today ordered the termination of all current memberships on advisory committees within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  A memorandum from Benjamine C. Huffman, Acting DHS Secretary, stated that “future committee activities will be focused solely on advancing our critical mission to protect the homeland and support DHS’s strategic priorities.” 

As a result of this memorandum, the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC), created in 1989 after the attack on Pan Am Flight 103, will cease to exist. Over the last 35 years, approximately 95% of ASAC’s recommendations to the FAA and TSA leadership have been accepted.  These recommendations improve aviation security and protect the flying public.  ASAC’s individual members represent 19 key stakeholder groups affected by aviation security requirements, including victims of terrorist acts against aviation.  These stakeholder groups include air carriers, air cargo groups, aircraft manufacturers, labor groups representing pilots and flight attendants, airport operators, and members of victims’ groups such as ours.  For 35 years, ASAC has worked to improve aviation security, and to recommend policies that address aviation security in an ever-changing threat environment. 

The work of ASAC has always been conducted in a bipartisan fashion.  Aviation security affects us all.  Acting Director Huffman stated that DHS is committed to “eliminating the misuse of resources and ensuring that DHS activities prioritize our national security.”  We cannot imagine a higher priority than protecting the threat to our national security posed by those who wish to attack the United States using our aviation system. Kara Weipz, President of Vicitms of Pan Am Flight 103, Inc., stated that “Today’s action by the Trump Administration will undermine aviation security in the United States and across the globe.”