22 Jun World’s largest air cargo handler opens new security operations centre for EMEAA in Paris
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), which claims the title of the world’s largest air cargo handler and is headquartered in Paris, has opened a new Security Operations Centre (SOC) for the Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa (EMEAA) region in the city, providing centralised 24/7 monitoring of its cargo handling operations.
Located in Paris CDG, the Centre commences operation this month to focus on delivering the highest standards of aviation security and safety across the group’s network. The SOC will be the security focal point for over 40 of WFS’ cargo handling sites in 12 countries in the EMEAA region, with a dedicated team of security personnel monitoring over 1,900 CCTV cameras and 60 digital video recorders.
The establishment of this new SOC coincided with the latest upgrade of CCTV equipment across its cargo network and access to the unit is strictly controlled with regular audits conducted to ensure compliance with EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable privacy laws and regulations. The company says this security model has already been implemented successfully in North America after WFS opened its first Security Operations Centre in New York JFK in 2017 to ensure compliance with aviation security protocols at all its stations in the US and Canada.
In addition to its new global CCTV monitoring capability, WFS has invested in Enablon’s award-winning cloud-based software suite to manage all incidents, audit and risk assessments. This allows the WFS SOC teams, as well as local and regional teams, to quickly and easily record incidents, audits, inspections and action plans, and gives management real-time oversight across the whole WFS network. David Clark, Global Head of Safety and Security at WFS, explained thus::
“As the world’s largest cargo handler, WFS works with over 270 airlines globally, and has operations at 175 airports around the world. Our first corporate priority is to ensure safety and security at every single station to protect our employees, our customers, partners and the traveling public. This is why we regularly review our security systems and protocols and invest in training and advanced digital technologies to maintain the highest safety and security standards in our industry.
“Our new Security Operations Centre in Paris provides a central function and security team to help our local teams across EMEAA identify and resolve any security and safety non-compliances as quickly and effectively as possible. In overseeing our operations in real-time and routinely auditing security process compliance across all cargo sites, we’re completing our platform for global remote monitoring, which opens up exciting opportunities for the future, including artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to further reduce safety and security risks.”