Airport security, or lack thereof, at Suvanabhumi

[Gaybutton]

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST:

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Airport Security Gets Serious?

 

By Amornrat Mahitthirook

 

Saprang Kalayanamitr, chairman of the board of Airports of Thailand, told AoT president Chana U-sathaporn yesterday to take tough action against those responsible for airport security over the most serious lapse.

 

Top executives at Suvarnabhumi airport face possible transfer over the security lapse that enabled a Burmese immigrant to sneak into the airport grounds and board an empty Turkish Airlines plane last week.

 

Both airport executives and outsourced firms are responsible for airport security.

 

"The management must not compromise when any officer is not suited to his security-related duty. They must transfer that person immediately," Gen Saprang said on Tuesday.

 

"Those who lack the leadership qualities required for their positions should be transferred to positions that suit them better."

 

An airport source said the AoT executives facing possible transfer include Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Serirat Prasutanond, airport deputy general manager for operations Flying Officer Chaturongkapon Sodmanee, and the head of the airport security department Suthad Chimjarod.

 

However, an AoT source said there had been rumours since late last year that Mr Serirat and Don Mueang airport general manager Anirut Thanomkulbutra might switch jobs. The rumour has it that Flying Officer Anirut is a classmate of AM Chana, which could make it easier for AM Chana to implement his policies through F/O Anirut.

 

A committee was set up to investigate those in charge of Suvarnabhumi airport's security and the intrusion. It must conclude its investigation in seven days, the source said.

 

The Burmese man was a jail escapee from Malaysia and had planned to go to a third country through Thailand. He has been charged with trespassing.

 

Gen Saprang said security is the heart of airport business.

 

He suggested AM Chana immediately take harsh disciplinary action against those who failed to perform their duties properly.

 

Gen Saprang also chaired his last meeting as board chairman of Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel Co yesterday. He insisted the company's disbursement of the hiring fee for Universal Hospitality Joint Venture, which was contracted to manage Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel, was transparent.

 

He said the hotel board had been most prudent when preparing the disbursement of the 101-million-baht management fee to the joint venture.

[Guest fountainhall]

As a fairly frequent critic of various aspects of Suvarnabhumi airport, I was very pleased to note on departure the other day that many of the security check-points have recently been moved away from the Gate areas back to the bridges leading from Immigration to the duty-free area. Now it is no longer possible for terrorists or others determined to cause trouble to access the Gate areas without first going through security checks. Passengers are therefore safer as a result. One bouquet to the airport authority!

[Guest lvdkeyes]

Does that mean you can buy water in the duty free area to take on the plane with you?

[macaroni21]

Does that mean you can buy water in the duty free area to take on the plane with you?

 

Yes. I noticed last week that that possibility exists.

 

I actually think moving the check-points for hand-carried luggage to BEFORE duty-free compromises security. Now it is possible for someone to check in at Suvarnabhumi, go through passport control and bag control and then mingle with thousands of other travellers in transit in the duty-free area. Think of the possibilities of two terrorists meeting up within the transit area with the in-transit guy passing a gun or small bomb to the guy who's just checked in from the Bangkok side.

 

The Bangkok guy can then proceed to board his flight with no further checks.

 

How easy is it for a guy in transit have a gun or bomb to pass to the Bangkok guy? That depends... how many dodgy airports have flights into Suvarnabhumi? This means that Suvarnabhumi's security is only as good as the worst airport that connects to it.

 

I flew from Suvaranabhumi to Changi Singapore and for the first time I saw the Singapore authorities putting up a checkpoint to screen passengers as they disembarked. All hand-luggage had to go through scanners, all pockets checked before people could enter the Changi terminal. I thought it showed how much trust the Singapore authorities placed in Suvarnabhumi's security.

[Guest fountainhall]

Think of the possibilities of two terrorists meeting up within the transit area with the in-transit guy passing a gun or small bomb to the guy who's just checked in from the Bangkok side

 

Sorry, macaroni2, but you are not correct. Yes, you can indeed mingle with thousands of others in the departures level, but you have the comfort of knowing that every passenger has been screened. If you are in transit from another flight, you arrive on a lower level than the duty free/departures area. To access that international departures area, you still have to go through a security check at the lower level before you can ascend to the upper level. This is the system used by all major airports for transit passengers, whether it is transit from domestic or international. Suvarnabhumi is now much more in line with international practice.

[TMax]

Yes. I noticed last week that that possibility exists.

When I left Bangkok in late August it was a definate no no to take water bought in the duty free area to the plane, way to cheese them off is to remove the cap before depositing it in the bin. "why you do that" was the response I received.

[Guest fountainhall]

When I left Bangkok in late August it was a definate no no to take water bought in the duty free area to the plane

 

With the new security screening system, there's no problem. As I said some time ago, the old system of screening at the gate areas was idiotic. It was also wasteful in terms of machines, which lay idle for quite a long time each day, and personnel, which lay idle for . . . .

 

way to cheese them off is to remove the cap before depositing it in the bin. "why you do that" was the response I received

 

I fail to understand why TMax would want to "cheese them off". Anyone who has flown anywhere in the last 5 years or so knows that you cannot take liquids in containers larger than 100mls through a security check. Every airport has this regulation. SInce, prior to this month, you went through no security check at Suvarnabhumi between check-in and getting to a gate area, it's 100% obvious that you could not take a bottle of water on to the plane (although I remember one poster who said he got onto Eva airlines with a bottle of water by showing the receipt - an action which should have got the security officer fired, in my book). It was not the security officers' fault that the airport security system was poorly designed.