Cablegate: Tsa & French Civil Aviation Authority On Aviation

VZCZCXRO7032
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHFR #6075/01 2541531
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111531Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1193
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES PRIORITY
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY 1734
RUEAWJA/DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 006075

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/WE, EB/TRA, L, S/CT
USEU FOR MORENSKI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR ECON PTER ASEC FR
SUBJECT: TSA & FRENCH CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY ON AVIATION
SECURITY, NO FLY, AND PNR

REF: A. PARIS 5958

B. PARIS 5674
C. STATE 125421

SUMMARY
--------------

1. (SBU). In a detailed September 5 discussion, Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary for
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Kip Hawley and
France DGAC Director General Michel Wachenheim discussed
aircraft security in the wake of the recent foiled plot in
the UK. The GOF has adopted an inspection regime which goes
beyond TSA's recent new Emergency Amendments (EAs), and
Wachenheim and Hawley pledged to stay in close contact and
coordinate efforts on emerging new standards. On the
Passenger Name Record (PNR) issue, Wachenheim stated clearly
that airlines would continue to furnish PNR data on
France-origin passengers to the USG after September 30, even
if the U.S. and EU are unable to come up with a new PNR
agreement by end September. END SUMMARY.

2. (U) The DHS Assistant Secretary for TSA Kip Hawley called
on French civil aviation agency (DGAC) Director-General
Michel Wachenheim September 5. Hawley was accompanied by
TSA/TSNM General Manager Rich Stein, Economic

SIPDIS
Minister-Counselor, and Paris TSAR. Wachenheim was joined by
DGAC Technical and Strategic Affairs deputy Paul Schwach,
Asst. Deputy DGAC Director Gerard Lefevre and DGAC Security
Manager Jacques Le Guillou.

AIRPORT SECURITY IN THE WAKE OF THE FOILED UK PLOT
--------------------------------------------- -----------

3. (SBU) Michel Wachenheim opened the discussions by
welcoming Assistant Secretary Hawley to France. He noted
strong GOF support for the types of security measures
promulgated in TSA,s newly implemented emergency amendments
(EA/SDs), restricting gels and liquids in carry-on baggage.
From a bilateral standpoint, he stressed the need for
improving communication and information-sharing to streamline
the process of implementing emergency security measures.
Wachenheim fleshed out the complexities of complying with
GOF,s own internal requirements, EU measures, and U.S. EAs
simultaneously. In addition, the French Interior Ministry
put extremely tough measures in place in the wake of the UK
plot, requiring both 100% checks of carry-on bags and 100%
physical searches of U.S., Israel, and, initially, UK-bound
passengers.

4. (SBU) Looking to the development of new standards going
forward, Wachenheim asked the DHS Assistant Secretary what
would be the minimum percentage of screening that the U.S.
could accept for gels and liquids. He also asked about what
level of screening other countries were using. Hawley
explained that these items must be screened for at the main
screening checkpoint (100%) and that there must be
random/continuous screening at the boarding gate. The U.S.
could probably accept a 10% random screeing rate, but would
have a difficult time implementing a higher rate of random
checks. He noted that the UK currently screens at the 50%
rate at the boarding gate. In the United States, items
purchased in the Duty Free shops are placed in sealed
transparent bags and delivered to the passenger at the
boarding gate.

5. (SBU) Wachenheim said that the EU is requiring 10%
screening of these items. By contrast, the UK is conducting
50% screening. In France, for flights to the U.S. and Israel,
the screening is 100%. For all other destinations the
screening is currently set at 50%. He added that for France,
somewhere between 10-30% would be acceptable, and France will
work toward this in the EU context.. He stressed the economic
impact on the Aroports de Paris (ADP) and the Duty Free
shops in CDG. Some shops have claimed a 40% loss in sales
since the release of the new security measures and have even
planned on announcing future layoffs.

6. (SBU) DHS Assistant Secretary Hawley noted that the U.S.
is considering permitting a certain number of small
containers (perhaps up to eight 50-75 ml containers) onboard
with each passenger. This amount was determined by TSA
experts to be an allowable quantity and could facilitate the
need for certain overnight flyers to carry personal items on

PARIS 00006075 002 OF 002

board. Hawley offered to make TSA experts available to meet
with DGAC officials. Wachenheim and Hawley further discussed
acceptable x-ray and screening equipment, and Paris TSA
Representative emphasized the need for proper training of
screeners on how to detect containers potentially containing
liquids. Hawley is hopeful that a new standard can be
devised quickly and applied consistently over the near
future.

7. (SBU) Both Wachenheim and Hawley agreed that purchases
of duty-free items in a &sterile8 duty-free environment did
not pose a major problem. Wachenheim noted, however, that
many airports are wrestling with how to handle purchases made
in airports in non-sterile environments (e.g..,
non-controlled pre-security screening shops). This is a
major problem at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, for example.
Wachenheim wondered whether it might be possible to have such
purchases sealed by the vendor, sent through explosives
detection systems, and delivered to passengers at the
departure gate.

NO FLY AND PNR ISSUES
-----------------------------

8. (SBU) Assistant Secretary Hawley noted with satisfaction
that the number of flight diversions on Paris-U.S. routes had
diminished significantly over the past year. Hawley hoped
that a future rollout of the APIS Quick Query (AQQ) system
could further shift the burden of terrorist name matching
from the air carrier to the U.S. Government. He added that he
was actively working with his CBP counterparts on this issue
and stressed that this was a definite priority for TSA.

9. (SBU) Economic Minister Counselor questioned Wachenheim
about DGAC views on the US-EU PNR agreement discussions.
Wachenheim stressed the importance of coming to an agreement
by September 30, if possible, emphasizing that without an
agreement the air carriers would lose their legal umbrella
for providing PNR data to the USG. However, Wachenheim
stated clearly that carriers operating from France would
continue to provide PNR data to US authorities even in the
absence of an agreement by September 30.

COMMENT
-----------

10. (SBU) The discussion with DGAC was positive and
detail-oriented. The GOF has adopted a robust security
stance in the aftermath of the UK plot discovery, but clearly
is hoping to move to a standard that is less onerous than
100-percent checks and more viable over the medium-to-long
term. As we have heard from other interlocutors on the PNR
issue, Wachenheim was reassuring that PNR information will
continue to be transmitted post-September 30.

Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm

HOFMANN

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