In 1988, an aircraft with 18 people aboard was blown to smithereens as it approached Johannesburg’s international airport from Phalaborwa. A passenger carrying an unstable explosive substance had accidentally triggered the fatal fireball.
While it is extremely unlikely such explosives can be smuggled aboard an aircraft in today’s eagle-eyed aviation environment, it is disconcerting to know that South Africa does not fully conform to international security standards.
This much is admitted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), whose website notes that a national aviation safety plan, effective since 2004, is not compliant with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) standards.
”This plan is an updated version [of] the 1983 plan. This plan is intended to be an interim plan, as it does not fully incorporate Annex 17 of the Chicago Convention. To achieve this, it is necessary to amend the civil aviation safety regulations, to provide for the ICAO requirements,” reads the website.
The United Nations’s ICAO sets the global standard for aviation security, incorporated in a set of annexes to the Chicago Convention.
The aim of most of the annexes is to promote flight safety, particularly by guaranteeing minimum standards of training and safety procedures, and by ensuring uniform international practices.
Annex 17 relates to security specifications for safeguarding international civil aviation against ”acts of unlawful interference”, such as sabotage.
The CAA’s chief of security, Mongezi India, declined to respond to a list of questions, saying they were on a ”need-to-know basis for employees within aviation only”.
However, in an address to the Board of Airline Representatives South Africa (Barsa) in June, Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe said new and comprehensive civil aviation regulations on cargo security were in the last stages of approval before promulgation.
”The civil aviation regulations have been amended to allow for security audits; 100% hold-baggage screening for both domestic and international flights; paper trails for pre-flight inspections; and improved security of the flight deck or cockpit door,” said Radebe.
Radebe said India, who reports directly to him, mentioned that various activities aimed at improving aviation security were being undertaken.
These included the establishment of an implementation committee to ensure compliance; improved communication between the national aviation security committee and the local airport security committees; and more frequent ad hoc oversight inspections and non-compliance tracking exercises.
Isabel Hancock, Barsa chairperson, said it has suggested to Radebe that he convene a summit of the aviation sector in South Africa, where views and solutions could be shared between industry and the ministry.
”This was welcomed by Minister Radebe and we, at Barsa, look forward to this interaction in the future enabling us to discuss and, more importantly, take action on precisely these types of safety and security issues,” said Hancock.
In addition, Hancock said Barsa members have submitted their own airlines’ air-carrier security programme to the CAA to be incorporated into the broader national air-carrier security programme.
South Africa has experienced its share of aircraft security scares.
A Zimbabwean student, Tinashe Rioga, is facing prosecution after an abortive hijacking attempt in which he brandished a hypodermic syringe while throttling an air stewardess. Fortunately he was overpowered and arrested. Other minor incidents relate to the so-called ”air rage” phenomenon, as airports and airlines internationally ratchet up their safety measures.
Among the enhanced features introduced by some airlines operating in South African skies are bullet-proof doors and closed-circuit television cameras in aircraft.
Recently extraordinary security measures prohibiting hand luggage, liquids and spectacle cases were imposed at major airports in the United Kingdom after British security agencies foiled a plot to blow up United States-bound aircraft.
According to Radebe, critical deficiencies identified in last year’s international inspection of South African airports were inadequate screening policies and an absence of designated security officers at major airports. Upgrades to emergency command centres and revisions of contingency plans were also needed.
The next ICAO security audits for South Africa were scheduled for August this year.
Meanwhile, Bongani Maseko, director of operations at the Airports Company South Africa, confirmed that Acsa had employed European aerospace and defence giant EADS to obtain ”expert guidance” on how security can be improved at all the country’s airports.
”It would be improper to publicly discuss specific outcomes of those studies,” he said.
With an eye on the 2010 Soccer World Cup, where thousands of spectators are expected by plane, Acsa and other role players are intent on beefing up safety and security procedures. — Sapa