Two days after the attacks, the State Council and the Central Military Commission established, within the CAAC, the Office of the National Leading Group in the Resolution of Hijackings, which has special responsibility for the daily work of the Leading Group itself. 2
Ten days after 11th September, the CAAC and the Ministry of Public Security
jointly issued the Notification on Civil Aviation Security, 3
which strictly prohibited passengers from taking firearms (including a variety of toys, miniature transmitters and all types of offensive weapons) and other dangerous goods on board or putting them in checked baggage and cargo. It also prohibited passengers from carrying any knives in the cabin. Obviously, the need for such a provision was learned from the attacks in the United States.
The Evolution of the Aviation Security Officer System China was one of the first countries in the world to deploy special security forces in-flight. Today's air marshal system is derived from the Aviation Security Officer (ASO) team founded in 1973 when the ASOs first performed security duties on international flights. By 1982, the ASOs were deployed to both the international and to key domestic flights; in 1983, the tasks of ASOs were transferred to the aviation police, yet in 1987 the ASO team was re-formed4
160 ASOs based all over the country. In the early 1990s, hijackings were a frequent occurrence.
There were 18 hijackings in 1993 alone; the destination of the hijackers was generally Taiwan. In order to respond to the situation, starting in 1994, the CAAC substantially increased the number of ASOs and deployed them to routes operating near to the southeast coast. Chosen from the local police, army and armed police, this group of ASOs was affiliated with the security departments of the airlines under the guidance of the Public Security Bureau of the CAAC. The programme was a success. After 1994, with the exception of one incident where the Captain himself was the hijacker, Chinese carriers were no longer being successfully hijacked out of Mainland China. In fact, there were 30 attempted hijackings between 1994 and 2012, all of which are classified as having been successfully aborted. The ASO programme continues to this day and it has made an important contribution to China's aviation security system. Today, every airline has its own security department, members of which consist of full-time ASOs and part- time ASOs. Full-time ASOs, hidden amongst the ordinary passengers, are only responsible for the security of the cabin; part-time ASOs also perform flight attendant cabin service duties. They are in flight attendant uniforms and provide necessary cabin service duties whilst, at the same time, they also conduct the timely detection of abnormalities in passenger behaviour within the cabin by effecting continual patrols under the guise of customer service when not effecting traditional duties (eg. meal service). On detecting any act of unlawful interference or disruptive behaviour, they can exercise the duties and responsibilities of the ASOs. Although some discrepancy exists between this system and Doc 8973, to a large extent such a system compensates for the shortage of full-time air marshals.
The fundamental operational advantage of part-time ASOs over full-time ASOs is that they do not take up passenger seats in the cabin. One of the reasons many airlines around the world object to both in-flight security officer and air
August 2012 Aviationsecurityinternational
marshal programmes is the potential for loss of revenue by having to give up seats, often in Business Class sections of the aircraft, to non-fee paying ‘passengers’. Thus, in China, the blend of part-time and full-time ASOs is widely accepted and adopted by domestic airlines.
“…China’s air marshal programme integrates traditional Chinese martial arts with modern boxing, grappling, fighting and other unarmed offensive and defensive close- quarters combat skills…”
In the early days, both the full-time and part-time ASOs were male and the part-time ASOs were easily recognisable when engaged in cabin service duties. As a result part-time ASOs were recruited from a pool of female attendants or by directly recruiting them from female members of police SWAT teams. Both part-time and full-time ASOs are seconded to the various airlines. Their salaries are covered by the carriers and therefore national budgetary issues do not come into play. However, it was felt that having airline employees as providers of in-flight security was not necessarily the best solution.
. At that time there were only
The Formation of the Air Marshal System In 2002, the CAAC embarked on the development of a national air marshal programme. The initial cadre of air marshals were drawn from existing ASOs and by supplementing their number through the recruitment of local police officers. In October 2003, China's first batch of 2,000 air marshals went on duty. The country's air marshal force is subject to the centralised and unified management of the Air Marshal Corps (AMC) in the Public Security Bureau of the CAAC. The key difference between the air marshal programmes of most Western countries and that of China is that the AMC deploys its air marshals (an Air Marshal Detachment or Air Marshal Brigade) to specific airlines to work with them full-time. The Air Marshal Brigades are therefore subject to the dual leadership and management of both the AMC and the airlines. As an integral part of the People’s Police, the air marshals implement the decisions and orders of the public security organs. However, in performing their duties onboard the aircraft, they are required to execute the orders issued by the aircraft’s commander (Captain). The Air Marshal Brigades are put together in accordance with each carrier’s flight schedule. On duty, the marshals
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