Hany Bakr joined MedAire in 2019 as Senior VP of Aviation Security and Maritime for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Having spent over 20 years in the aviation industry, Hany Bakr has held executive leadership positions in airline operations, quality and security, and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Previously, Bakr served as VP of Group Security, overseeing 50,000 employees and operations in more than 100 countries, assuring the safety of these operations with strategic and operational oversight and national and international regulations. He also led asset protection responsible for worldwide employees, criminal investigations, cyber security, access control and video surveillance systems, airports, and corporate offices for the Qatar Airways group.
INFLUENCE AT MEDAIRE
Since 1998, MedAire has provided security services to the aviation industry. As a result, there was a need for his role to support clients in EMEA in response to the growing need in the industry for unbiased, third-party intelligence, advice, and assistance services. MedAire is the industry-leading provider of travel risk management solutions for business aviation, commercial airlines, luxury yachts, and commercial carriers.
As MedAire's Senior VP of Security Aviation and Maritime, Hany will advise clients in managing and mitigating their people, assets, and operational risks. Additionally, Hany will support the development of aviation security products to maintain MedAire's industry leadership position. From strategic oversight to a forward-looking innovation framework, Bakr keeps MedAire International's aviation and maritime security risk management initiatives on the cutting edge.
Hany Bakr provides technical guidance and threat analysis for MedAire to help clients mitigate risk, including operating over, around, or adjacent to airspace conflict zones, civil unrest involving aircrew, company business travellers, local employees, flight and airport operations, and terrorism. MedAire offers flight and airspace risk assessments based on its airspace risk analysis tool and aviation travel security briefs. In addition, they provide recommendations for conducting airport operations safely.
The MedAire360 Portal shows a real-time overview of the safety risks of a member's planned route. Country, city, and airport incidents and alerts are combined with detailed airspace risks by altitude. In addition, the portal allows members to upload flight routes and track fleet movement to give their mission a 360-degree security risk profile.
INFLUENCE ON THE AVIATION INDUSTRY
Hany was most recently part of the ICAO Middle East team as Regional Officer of Aviation Security and Facilitation. Additionally, Hany was Chairman of the oneworld Alliance Security Group, and the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO), Security Intelligence Task Force, and Qatar Airways Security Risks, Threats and Security Action Groups.
Furthermore, he served as a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Security Executive Group, representing 290 airlines, ensuring capacity building, information sharing, and global lobbying with local and international authorities in the members' best interest.
“The safety of people, aircraft, and operations are all interconnected. Operators must be aware of events affecting flight operations or crew and passenger safety in and around a country's airspace. Insurgents and terrorists target airports and hotels as attractive targets. Often, crew and aviation support staff are based in these two locations. Aviation security must extend beyond the aircraft. Thus, we offer several services to inform, educate and advise our clients on how to mitigate security risks to their operations pre-flight, in-flight and at destination,” explains Bakr.