Industry Experts Identify Security, Safety Implications of Porous Airports

Industry stakeholders and aviation security experts have reacted to various reports of security breach at the airside of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and warned that continuous inaction to secure the airports might lead to terror attacks.

In the past two months, there have been reports of bandits attacking taxiing aircraft on the runway of the airports, for which the Federal Airports Authority Nigeria (FAAN) had denied. However, there have been insistence in the reports of thefts or attempted thefts on aircraft pausing at the holding point or stopping to allow another aircraft to pass.

The reports started with business jets taxiing to the private terminals at the airport but last week, Air Peace pilot notified air traffic control that the cargo hold of its aircraft was opened for 15 seconds as light indication showed on the cockpit, an incident that was also denied by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which accused the airline of raising false alarm.

But the CEO of Centurion, aviation security company, and the Secretary of Aviation Round Table (ART), Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd), told THISDAY that poaching at the airside of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport has been an old history and when it was rife in the 1990s, drastic action was taken to stop it.

Ojikutu alleged that security breach at the airports must be the handiwork of insiders, which is what is known as insider threat.

“Poaching in the aircraft baggage hold compartment at MMIA should not be new happenings to older FAAN and other airport staff. What is probably new is the poaching of general aviation aircraft. In all the cases however, it had always the hands of insiders which FAAN and NCAA should investigate within the airport and airlines security programmes.

“Secondly, NCAA should review or survey the security programs of the aircraft operators and FAAN. FAAN and NCAA should begin the review of the background checks on all airport staff working in the airport restricted security controlled areas. Audit all operators’ staff to determine those that have been disengaged or retired but still with on duty cards or companies IDs that

still give them access into the airside and the security controlled areas.

“Lastly, the concept of follow me vehicle is to guide aircraft to its parking bay or guide visiting irregular flight through unfamiliar airport manoeuvering areas. In this case, a vehicle not two is provided in front not behind the aircraft. When poaching started in early 90s at MMIA, the concept of the follow me vehicle was to have a vehicle to follow the aircraft behind not as a guide or pilot but as a security and surveillance vehicle. Unfortunately emphasis has since shifted the vehicle more as a pilot vehicle than a surveillance/security vehicle,” Ojikutu said.