The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) sponsored an Orientation Visit (OV) to the United States for delegates from the Airport Security sector in Argentina and Mexico. The Argentine and Mexican officials were invited to examine the capabilities of U.S. firms and technology in the area of Airport Security.

The visit, which was sponsored by USTDA and conducted by Global Marketing and Communications (GMC), brought delegates from Argentina and Mexico to the U.S. in two separate visits. Both groups followed nearly identical itineraries, but in reverse order. The only exception was the participation of the Argentine delegates at the AAAE Latin American/Caribbean/U.S. Aviation and Airport Issues Forum in Miami, FL. Unfortunately, the Mexican delegates were unable to attend the conference due to schedule conflicts.

Both the Argentine and Mexican delegations visited the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security operations and procedures at Liberty Airport, Newark, Logan Airport, Boston and Tampa International Airport. The delegates also visited security equipment manufacturers in Fairfield, New Jersey, Wilmington, Billerica, and Bedford, Massachusetts and St. Petersburg, Florida.

USTDA retained Global Marketing and Communications (GMC) to plan and conduct the OV. As part of the Argentine visit, GMC arranged for the delegation to address the AAAE Latin American/Caribbean/U.S. Aviation and Airport Issues Forum on October 17, 2004, and to meet privately with the US firms in attendance.

The itineraries for both delegations maximized the delegates’ time in the US and afforded them the opportunity to view U.S. airport security procedures and equipment in use at three different U.S. airports, Boston, Newark, and Tampa. In addition, the delegates met with the manufacturers of the equipment they had seen in action, as well as manufacturers of equipment installed at other airport locations.