Identification badges are a critical component to airport security.
But as Tyler Bartoo, client success specialist at NATA Compliance Services (NATA CS), explained during NATA CS’s recent Crew Badging: Best Practices and Benefits webinar, a secure badge doesn’t serve its purpose if it isn’t displayed properly.
“This is probably pretty intuitive,” he says. “If you got it off of your belt hoop, off of your hip. If you got it inside a shirt pocket or in your back pocket with your wallet, beneath the jacket or inside some kind of shirt, that's not necessarily helping you a whole lot.”
Rather, an airport badge should be displayed in a clearly visible location.
Bartoo says a neck lanyard or a clip on the exterior of a shirt pocket are really good options.
“In a past life many years ago, I worked in baggage at the local airport,” he adds. “I had an arm-band because a neck lanyard was potentially a little bit dangerous for the equipment that I worked with.”
But while an arm-band is a safe, secure option, it must still be displayed correctly – on the upper bicep/below the shoulder – where it can be easily seen.
To help ensure proper ID display, Bartoo suggests creating a policy that clearly states expectations for personnel to comply with best practices.
