Spate of robberies raises concern over ORT security

With the Airports Company
of SA (Acsa) effectively
ignoring an available identity
verification system (IVS)
permit system, and a recent
spate of robberies at the OR
Tambo foreign airlines cargo
terminal, air cargo operators
are up in arms about the lack
of security at the facility.
Alwyn Rautenbach,
executive manager of Airlink
Cargo and a founder member
of the Air Cargo Operators’
Committee (Acoc), told
FTW: “We’re incredibly
concerned about security at
this terminal. There have
been a number of armed
robberies in recent times.
We’ve been trying to involve
Acsa, but nothing has been
achieved so far.”
And the IVS permit is the
ideal tool for the job, with
everybody in the industry
carrying one, and each one
tightly company-controlled
real time.
For quite some time the
operators have been trying to
introduce this permit system
at the entrance. “IVS, being
industry-universal, is the
obvious answer,” Rautenbach
added. “We have the permits,
but Acsa is still not interested
in setting up a scanning
system for them and thereby
recording people entering the
terminal.”
And IVS really works well,
according to Rudi Buitenbos
of Swissport Cargo, speaking
from company experience.
“We use the IVS permit for
access and egress control at
the Swissport Cargo Centre,”
he said. “It’s ideal. Everybody
in the industry carries an
IVS permit, and can be easily
recorded in and out of your
premises. And it is real time.
The minute somebody leaves
employment for a company,
their permit is immediately
disabled. It works a treat.”
And only Johannesburg
airport doesn’t use it,
according to Rautenbach.
“We have meetings and talks,
but it all just goes round
in circles. We pay a serious
amount for the use of this
facility, but it’s up to them to
look after it.”
Roy Solomons of Bidair
Cargo and
vice chairman
of the Acoc,
said these
negotiations
had just
dragged on.
“It’s really
been a slow
process,” he
told FTW.
“Everyone in
the industry
is carrying
the IVS permits. But here
is Acsa talking about their
own system after a spate of
robberies since November.
But all we’re saying to Acsa
is use what’s been made
available to you instead of
re-inventing the wheel.”
And Ian van Rooyen
of Menzies, where armed
robberies recently took
place at their warehouse
in the cargo terminal, the
last one only a month ago,
was obviously concerned.
“We sent a letter to Acsa
complaining about the cargo
area and security. Made
the point that we want the
IVS permit system, and
everybody’s fighting for it.
But Acsa doesn’t want to
share a system with Acoc
and is doing nothing about
it. However,
we think
they’re
getting
better.”
Asked
about the
detail of the
robberies,
Van Rooyen
added that
the armed
gang just
walked into
the terminal.
“No ID check, no names
in the book at the gate,”
he said. “These people just
didn’t exist.”
Dave Logan, CEO of the
SA Association of Freight
Forwarders (Saaff), also
supported the call for
the permit system. “We
support increased security
measures at OR Tambo,”
he told FTW. “It’s already
taken far too long.”
INSERT & CAPTION
We have meetings
and talks, but it all
just goes round in
circles.
– Alwyn Rautenbach