1. AIRPOL
The Law Enforcement Network of Police & Border Guard Units at
European Airports
1. Organisation
In the past, the need for a coordinating body of law enforcement units at the
European airports was raised repeatedly. Already existing intra-European police
partnerships such as Atlas, Railpol, Aquapol, Tispol and others had, at several
occasions, proven to generate a surplus value and underline the ever-growing
importance of European law enforcement cooperation. Although the airport and
aviation sector is the environment where the need for international cooperation can
be sensed at its utmost, surprisingly enough no structural cooperation had been
elaborated in this domain.
In 2010 the first initiatives were taken to set up such a network of law enforcement
agencies. Visits to various police- & border guard units all over Europe were
undertaken, to determine the exact needs for such a forum. Open discussions with
several stakeholders lead to interesting points of view and encouraging input from
different sides. The Belgian EU-Presidency offered a unique opportunity to lay the
foundation of the AIRPOL Project. A EU-resolution recognising and supporting the
AIRPOL Network was the concrete outcome.
In April 2011, the European Commission formally granted the requested financial
support under the ISEC-programme 'Prevention of and Fight against Crime 2010' for
the AIRPOL Project. This grant marked the official start of the project and since then
a number of concrete activities have been realised, leading to the building up of a
permanent, functional and operational network of airport related law enforcement
agencies.
In the young existence of the network the need for a network has been confirmed
repeatedly. The number of unplanned activities has risen significantly and still
increases.
A second ISEC-funding has been granted in the course of 2013, guaranteeing the
continuation of the AIRPOL Network. The strategic focus for the next two years lies
on the consolidation, the strengthening and the further operational exploitation of
our network.
The AIRPOL framework has been created; hopefully all involved law enforcement
units will actively participate in and benefit from the network.

2. 2. AIRPOL Scope
AIRPOL deploys its activities over three aviation and airport related themes and will
actively explore potential synergies between them:
• Airport Policing, comprising all first-line police functions around airports,
such as airport crime, contingency management, counterterrorism strategies,
VIP-protection, protection of critical infrastructure,…
• Aviation Security, which consists of all necessary actions and regulations to
secure civil aviation. Examples of relevant issues are: engagement of air
marshals, dealing with unruly passengers, access and security checks, airport
badges management,…
• Airborder Security in all of its aspects: immigration issues, return
operations, border surveillance on smaller airports or landing strips,
document fraud… In this domain any overlapping with FRONTEX will be
avoided by a proactive communication and a most intense cooperation with
the agency.
3. Output and Deliverables
Three major output elements are to be distinguished:
• The elaboration of a permanent and functional network, focused on the
sharing of best practices, intelligence, general information and the exchange
of staff in the future in several areas;
• The coordination of high impact Cross Border Actions;
• The establishment of an advisory role as a representative body of experts
Subsequent deliverables are syllabuses, inventories of best practices, advices for
European and national authorities,…
4. Target Groups
AIRPOL's Primary Target Groups are:
• Police and Borderguard Units working at European airports
• Relevant European Agencies, such as Frontex, Europol, Cepol, Eurocontrol, ...
The emphasis in the cooperation with the EU Agencies is focused on
complementarity and the creation of synergies.

3. Secondary Targets Groups are other stakeholders involved in airport or aviation
security issues such as:
• Civil Aviation Authorities
• Customs
• Intelligence Agencies
• Legislative bodies
• Airport Companies
• ...
AIRPOL's Tertiary Target Group consists of all passengers, benefiting from an
enhanced security at European airports.
5. Mission
The mission of the AIRPOL is to enhance, through its activities, the overall security in
the EU airports and civil aviation domain:
• by optimising the effectiveness and efficiency of airport and aviation related
law-enforcement and border guard issues,
• and by contributing to a more harmonised approach of enforcement in this
domain.
Through the activities of the AIRPOL project and network, a significant and lasting
added value is to be generated in the prevention of and the fight against criminal
activities in the European aviation sector.
6. AIRPOL Core Group
The AIRPOL Core Group brings together a number of European law enforcement
agencies that actively participate in developing the AIRPOL strategy and the
subsequent activities. The AIRPOL Core Group convenes at least once per year in a
an AIRPOL Core Group Meeting an Management Board.

4. 7. AIRPOL Project Team
• Bruno Franckx
Project Manager
Luchtvaartpolitie Brussel Nationaal
• Hans Morren
Deputy Project Manager
Luchtvaartpolitie Brussel Nationaal
• Nils Roelandt
Communication Manager
Luchtvaartpolitie Brussel Nationaal
• Cees Tak
Operations Manager
Koninklijke Marechaussee District Schiphol
• Sven Deraedemaeker
Digital Manager - Permanent Office
Luchtvaartpolitie Brussel Nationaal

5. 8. AIRPOL Partners
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm (link is external)
The European Commission represents the interests of the EU as a
whole. It proposes new legislation to the European Parliament and the
Council of the European Union, and it ensures that EU law is correctly
applied by member countries.
The term 'Commission' refers to both the 28 Commissioners and the wider institution itself.
EUROPOL
https://www.europol.europa.eu/ (link is external)
Europol is the European Union’s law enforcement agency whose main
goal is to help achieve a safer Europe for the benefit of all EU citizens.
We do this by assisting the European Union’s Member States in their
fight against serious international crime and terrorism. Large–scale
criminal and terrorist networks pose a significant threat to the internal
security of the EU and to the safety and livelihood of its people. The biggest security threats
come from terrorism, international drug trafficking and money laundering, organised fraud,
counterfeiting of the euro currency, and people smuggling. But new dangers are also
accumulating, in the form of cybercrime, trafficking in human beings, and other modern-day
threats. This is a multi–billion euro business, quick to adapt to new opportunities and resilient
in the face of traditional law enforcement measures.
FRONTEX
http://www.frontex.europa.eu/ (link is external)
Frontex promotes, coordinates and develops European border
management in line with the EU fundamental rights charter applying the
concept of Integrated Border Management. Frontex helps border
authorities from different EU countries work together. Frontex’s full title
is the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation
at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union.
The agency was set up in 2004 to reinforce and streamline cooperation between national
border authorities. In pursuit of this goal, Frontex has several operational areas which are
defined in the founding Frontex Regulation and a subsequent amendment.
INTERPOL
http://www.interpol.int/ (link is external)
INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 190
member countries. Our role is to enable police around the world to work
together to make the world a safer place. Our high-tech infrastructure of
technical and operational support helps meet the growing challenges of
fighting crime in the 21st century.

6. 9. AIRPOL Point of Contact
For more information, feel free to contact the AIRPOL Permanent Office at
airpol@airpoleuropa.eu or by telephone (+32 2 709 66 01). For more on AIRPOL’s
activities, visit our website www.airpoleuropa.eu, and request your login (at the
bottom of the homepage)
Bruno FRANCKX
Project Manager AIRPOL