As part of its commitment to strengthening aviation security across the global industry, IATA promotes the adoption of SeMS among its members. The framework enables airlines and aviation stakeholders to move beyond compliance-based approaches by embedding proactive risk management, security assurance and continuous improvement into day-to-day operations, helping organisations build stronger security cultures and more adaptive and resilient operations.
Over the next five months, aviation security specialists from CAAi will undertake an independent review of IATA’s SeMS Certification Programme, benchmarking it against the UK SeMS framework to identify areas of alignment, gaps and opportunities for enhancement. The review will deliver evidence-based recommendations to support the continued evolution of IATA’s SeMS certification programme, helping to improve consistency, resilience and the application of international best practice in aviation security management. In addition, CAAi will examine future opportunities to enhance security oversight through emerging approaches, including the use of verifiable credentials.
The appointment reflects growing international recognition of the UK SeMS framework as a leading example of risk-based aviation security oversight. Informed by specialist aviation security knowledge and experience, CAAi will support IATA in enhancing its global SeMS programme, helping to translate UK best practice into recommendations that support the continued evolution of aviation security management worldwide.
Sophie Hibbin, Senior Technical Advisor for Aviation Security at CAAi, commented:
“We are delighted to have been selected by IATA to support this important review. The decision to benchmark against the UK SeMS framework reflects the significant progress made by the UK aviation industry and regulator in advancing a modern, risk-based approach to security management. We look forward to working closely with IATA to identify opportunities that will further strengthen security management practices across the global aviation community.”
Matthew Vaughan, Director Aviation Security at IATA, added:
“We are excited to work with the CAAi on this opportunity to review our IATA SeMS Certification Program that was launched in 2024. IATA has been at the forefront of advocating for the shift from a purely compliance-driven approach to aviation security to a mindset based on the proactive identification and mitigation of security risks and continuous performance monitoring and process improvement, with SeMS having been a part of the IATA Operational Safety Audits (IOSA) since 2007. We are looking forward to this opportunity to be able to further improve the certification program with the inputs of CAAi and strengthen it as a tool available industry-wide that offers support and recognition to organizations at every phase of SeMS development and implementation.”
The project commenced in July 2026 and is expected to be completed later this year.
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