Our Team of Experts

John Edwards

John Edwards

ASSOCIATE
Aviation security, Cargo and CVIT handling
An Associate of SafeGuard, John is a Member of the Association of Independent Aviation Security Professionals. He holds a NEBOSH Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health, a Department for Transport Level 3 qualification in Aviation Security and a certificate in Air Accident Investigation from the University of Southern California. He has had articles published in Aviation Security International and the Singapore Aviation Academy Journal of Aviation Management.

Background and Experience

Following over 37 years experience within the aviation industry working for  British Airways (BA), British Airways World Cargo (BAWC) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) John Edwards became an independent consultant and an Associate of SafeGuard Security in 2015.

John specialises in the areas of safety, security, risk management and quality assurance.  His strengths include strategy and programme development, gap analysis and closure, management systems development and implementation, performance analysis, and interpretation of data and information.  John has worked with a significant number of State regulators and has a strong cultural awareness and diverse experience of managing complex challenges.

Specific projects undertaken include:-

Safety Management Systems (SMS) aviation ground and ramp safety and the prevention and investigation of accidents and personal injuries; managing an Intelligence Co-ordination Unit focusing on asset and data protection, loss prevention and investigation; cargo safety and security strategy including the carriage of dangerous goods; network-wide audits of safety and security performance; managing a multi-million pound 3rd party contract for access control and manned guarding; supply chain security and corporate quality assurance with responsibility for developing protocols and procedures for the carriage of special cargos, such as cash-in-transit and munitions of war.

John was a core member of the BAWC Crisis Management Team that led the divisional response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.   In 2002 John founded and was the first Chair of the Air Cargo Security Industry Forum.  John also developed Secure Freight, an IATA project to establish the first industry standards for air cargo supply chain security and a ground-breaking conceptual model of a next generation checkpoint and screen process, showcased at the IATA AGM.  He also developed the first phased-implementation assessment tool with other industry experts (now Smart Security – project for airport passenger screening).  He remained with IATA until January 2015 rising to the position of Assistant Director for Security Policy.

In early 2015, he started working as an independent consultant and trainer and during this time has worked on projects in five countries in Europe and two in Africa , in the areas of safety and all-risks management, security risk, crisis management, national auditor training (on behalf of European Civil Aviation Conference) and cargo security.

As an expert witness John’s disciplines include aviation security, manned guarding, personal injury and goods-in-transit claims.

Download John’s curriculum vitae 

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