U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) representative Dwaine Murray recently concluded an official visit to The Bahamas where he engaged in productive dialogue with representatives from The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas and the Airport Authority.
TSA officials frequently visit The Bahamas to assess aviation security at several airports that have outbound flights to the United States. As part of the ongoing partnership, TSA also provided twenty-six trainings and workshops within the last ten years with its Bahamian counterparts, which included mentoring and the sharing of best practices. Additionally, in recent years, TSA hosted eight delegation visits with Bahamian aviation partners at several U.S. airports, as well as TSA headquarters and TSA’s technology facility.
The purpose of the visits was to share information on the latest aviation technologies and effective implementation of aviation security measures among TSA and Bahamian aviation officials. Murray noted, “both entities have been very supportive in TSA’s mission and have proven to be strong partners, as we share a common interest in strengthening aviation security.”
TSA views preclearance locations like the Nassau preclearance facility, as well as the preclearance facility on Grand Bahama (once fully operational again), as extensions of airports in the U.S. because of the required commensurability. In order to bolster aviation security efforts with its international partners as it looks to the future, TSA will continue to collaborate on evaluating vulnerabilities that may exist at airports. Murray noted, “With our partners in The Bahamas, we conduct assessments jointly. This has been a force-multiplier in enhancing aviation security measures and compliance oversight.” He added, “TSA is committed to being a reliable partner of The Bahamas, to hold healthy and frank dialogues, to share information, to innovate, to develop new capabilities to build a security culture designed to strengthen global aviation security and to stay ahead of evolving threats.”
As threats continue to evolve, TSA will continue to work with partners in The Bahamas to pursue technological advancements that will make the global transportation network more secure for everyone.