Pilots call for calm in the face of the wave of bomb threats: "We are trained for it"

The wave of bomb threats that has shaken Europe in recent days, with several dozen false alerts, has put airport authorities in numerous countries on alert and forced them to divert aircraft, carry out security inspections and even deploy fighter jets to monitor the situation. "It is not a normal situation due to the magnitude and coordination of these incidents," Carlos San José, pilot and dean of the Official College of Commercial Aviation Pilots (COPAC), told 20minutos.

"Threats have existed practically since the origins of aviation, so it is not a new situation, although the fact that it is in such a coordinated and extensive manner is certainly anomalous," says San José. Despite this, the pilot highlights that the crews face these incidents "with complete calm" and in accordance with the established protocols: "Ours is a service profession, and our job is to guarantee the safety of the flight, the passengers and the people on the ground. The most appropriate decisions are made based on the circumstances, and always in excellent coordination with the security forces."

"Aviation is the safest means of transportation, because everything is standardized, protected and protocolized, and we have been knowing what to do in each circumstance for a long time. We do it with complete peace of mind," he emphasizes. "The protocols are studied to guarantee security regardless of the threat. Identifying, assessing and attacking threats is the job of law enforcement, and ours, as a crew, is to protect people's lives, and we are trained to do so. That is the greatest guarantee of security: two pilots in the cockpit, well trained and trained," he explains.

How do you act when faced with a threat in mid-flight?

The management of bomb threats, such as those that several European countries are experiencing these days, falls to the security forces. "They are the ones who receive them, give them credibility or not and analyze the risk. Once analyzed by the security forces, the airports and the security departments of the companies, and if the flight you are piloting is affected, they will notify you of it," explains San José.

If the plane is on the ground, the entire protocol is developed by the security forces. If it is in the air, it is the commander, as the "highest authority of the flight", who assumes command of the protocol. "It depends on how they notify us, it is resolved one way or another." In general, the pilot highlights, what is prioritized "is the safety of the plane: maintaining headings, if necessary; ensuring the plane's trajectory and communications; and making decisions based on a very varied casuistry: how the flight is, what passenger you are carrying, where you are, where you are going, the weather or what airspace you fly over." "There are many variables and it is about resolving the situation in the most appropriate way and in coordination with the security forces and authorities on the ground," he points out.

"Once you land, the plane and the ticket are handed over to the security forces, who are in charge of screening the passengers and luggage. Normally airports have an area for these things," he details. The greatest damage in these situations, San José maintains, is usually reduced to the damage to the affected passengers: "These incidents interrupt their lives, their time, their work... and they also affect the companies and the airlines themselves, as their planes are paralyzed and air traffic interrupted, and that affects a lot of people," he says.

"It is about resolving the situation in the most appropriate way and in coordination with the security forces and authorities on the ground"

Protocols to proof new waves of alerts

The accumulation of bomb threats against European flights in just a few days, concentrated in different parts of the continent and without it being possible to determine for the moment whether they are related to each other, raises the possibility of a scenario in which these episodes are repeated on a recurring basis, forcing airlines and crews to face new interruptions to their activity.

In that sense, the pilots call for calm and the sector's ability to adapt thanks to its protocols. "They are well-worked guidelines for action, and the air system is very robust and resilient. These incidents are annoying because of all the setbacks they cause, but just like when a pandemic, a hurricane or a volcanic eruption occurs, we adapt to the circumstances, always guaranteeing the safety of people," says San José.