Acsa calls for state help to secure airports

‘Hansie’ investigation prompts stronger security awareness Leonard Neill THE AIRPORTS Company of South Africa (Acsa) is going all out to secure airports throughout the country in line with international norms, and wants a stronger partnership with the state to assist in its security endeavours, says managing director Monhla Hlahla. Mafahle Mareletse, executive director in charge of national airports, has taken over Acsa’s security portfolio, and does so at a time when the company has come under fire from opposition groups in Parliament on the issue of airport security. One major investigation being undertaken at present concerns the aircraft crash in which former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje was killed last year, when the aircraft was approaching George airport. An allegation of a faulty instrument landing system (ILS) has prompted Democratic Alliance (DA) transport spokesman Stuart Farrow to call for a speeding up of the investigation. Former Acsa group executive for aviation security, Paul O’Sullivan, alleged that the ILS at George had been troublesome for a considerable period prior to the crash, and that Acsa had ignored recommendations to replace it. This, he says in a dossier of 700 pages now in the possession of the Public Prosecutor, was because Acsa had said it would cost too much to replace. Yet, he contends, it was replaced within weeks of the accident. O’Sullivan was dismissed by Acsa in January of this year due to what Hlahla describes as ‘irreconcilable differences’ between him and the company. This has not deterred Farrow, however. He has called on the Civil Aviation Authority to complete its investigation into the crash as soon as possible, stating that the safety of passengers must be placed ahead of cost savings. The ILS transmits the exact angle and height required at various distances from the runway when an aircraft is forced to land in bad weather. Acsa has denied that any information was withheld from the CAA’s investigation, and has stated it will refrain from further comment on the matter until the final CAA report has been released. One other factor that Hlahla is seeking to improve is the number of police officers on duty at the nation’s airports. She says that Acsa has been working closely with the SA Police Service and various government agencies, including CAA, to put in place satisfactory measures to safeguard airport infrastructure, stakeholders and users. There are still too few police officers at airports, she contends, and most of these are concentrated in Johannesburg and Cape Town.