The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunoma has called on member states of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to work together to fight terrorism, which is the greatest threat against air transport in the world.
Dunoma noted that to ensure travellers and airport users are protected, ICAO has emphasized on training of security personnel, using intelligence to avert insider threat, effective communication among security operatives and deployment of modern equipment at airports to ensure prevention of security breaches.
The FAAN Managing Director made the call during the inaugural ICAO sponsored training at the agency’s training school, which was designated as ICAO Aviation Security Training Centre at its headquarters in Lagos late last year.
Speaking at the event, Dunoma who was represented by FAAN Director of Engineering Services, Salisu Daura, noted that the workshop was coming at the appropriate time considering the fact that civil aviation is increasingly being the target of terrorists due to the immense impact it has on human victims, material damages and the integrity of the nation involved.
He also noted that risk management is a critical variable in the aviation industry and therefore enjoined member states to cooperate more to ensure proper coordination in dealing with rising risks and terrorist attacks.
Dunoma disclosed that the FAAN/ICAO Aviation Security Training Centre has the capacity to meet the training needs for the West and Central African regions and to contribute substantially to the development and improvement of aviation security training globally.
In actualizing its no country left behind programme, ICAO has designated training aviation training facilities that met its high standard as ICAO training centres.
The FAAN training school is expected to cater for aviation security training for countries in West and Central Africa and with the inaugural training, the centre has opened for business.