Why is everything so secret?

When it comes to security, there is a great deal that the police and the Danish Civil Aviation Administration (CAA-DK) cannot disclose. But why not?

We put four questions to Thorbjørn Ancker, Head of Communications at the CAA-DK.

Why are there so many things to do with airport security you never want to talk about? Unfortunately, terrorists also read newspapers, watch TV and listen to the radio, so we do not give anything away when it comes to protecting the general public against terrorist attacks. We do not disclose which counter-measures are in effect.   The obvious reason for this is that if terrorists knew the details about security at the airport, it would be easier for them to evade security measures. For

example, we do not tell anyone what we are looking for in body searches and baggage screening. If we disclosed the details, people might try to hide that sort of thing. We do not disclose details about how the security equipment works for the same reason.

What might happen if people were given a little more information?

It is not the general public we don’t want to know. We would like to provide information to them, but the basic problem is that the very small number of passengers who might launch terrorist attacks against aviation could go out and abuse this information.  That’s why aviation security is surrounded by so much confidentiality.

Why are people not allowed to take photos in the areas around the security checkpoints?

People should not be given the opportunity to sit down and study photos of the security checkpoints and, for example, enlarge them to look for details. One thing is what you see when you go through security as a passenger; another is what you can get out of spending time at home searching for weaknesses in the systems.

Why can you not announce what security measures will be launched in Denmark when a terrorist attack occurs somewhere in the world?

The Danish Security Intelligence Service evaluates on a case-by-case basis whether there is any reason to inform the general public. In some cases, it may be a good thing to inform the general public because people will then be more vigilant. However, in most cases there is no reason to scare airline passengers unnecessarily if heightened security restrictions are in place for a specific flight departure.