NCAA, FAAN charged to come up with security strategies to curtail unruly air passengers

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) have been urged to come up with security directives, advice and suggestions at the various levels of the Defence Layers in aviation to curtail unruly air passengers as he maintained that such unruly behaviours by passengers would always be a recurring event at the airport.

An aviation expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu (rtd), gave this advice in a post he made available to PortNews in Lagos, lamenting that there is no one in the NCAA AVSEC has ever risen to the level of the Director of Avsec since the NCAA was established.

In the Civil Aviation Security Defence Layers, he said there are seven layers, and they are 1. intelligence 2. Airlines Pre-passenger screen (CAPPS) 3. Counter Checking 4. Access Control into the Airport Security Control Area 5. Airport Screening Checkpoint with carryon luggage 6. Hold baggage screening 7. Airlines Secondary screening at boarding.

He maintained that failure of both NCAA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) having AVSEC officials promoted to the rank of director demoralizes security officials from putting in their best.

According to him, there are three parts of Civil Aviation Security: Airport Security, Airspace Security and In-flight Security. Disruptive or Unruly Passengers are common in the Airport and In-flight. The National Civil Aviation Programme should define that for the airports and the airlines operators to develop their respective Security Programmes.

In the Civil Aviation Security Defence Layers, there are about 6 layers: 1. intelligence, 2. Airlines Pre-passenger screen (CAPPS), 3. Counter Checking, 4. Access Control into the Airport Security Control Area, 5. Airport Screening Checkpoint with carryon luggage, 6. Hold baggage screening, 7. Airlines Secondary screening at boarding. Except 1 and 6, that may not be viable, all others are visible.

All the 7 levels are the responsibility of the oversight and regulations enforcement authority to check, inspect without notice regularly and audit periodically. These are already established in the operators programmes and the Regulatory Authority schedule but how have these been complied with?

One major problem at FAAN and the NCAA in particular is the instabilities in the career progressions of the Avsec Staff. No one in the NCAA AVSEC has risen to the level of the Director of Avsec since the NCAA was established. Not too different in FAAN where in the last 15 years, nobody in progressions has risen to become Director.

Avsec is not about the multiplication of forces nor the Application of Arms as they are in the Military and the Police but more of Profiling the behavioural patterns of not only the passengers but including the aviation staff not excluding the crew and Airport staff, meeters, seerers, visitors, etc. Unruly Passengers will always be there as they have always been there but what are the operators emergency programmes and the Contingency Plans for each area?

This is the job for the NCAA. What the NCAA must do now is to come out with Security Directives, Advice, Suggestions, at the various level of the Defence Layers for each operators Security Programme.