The Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, has raised the alarm that some passengers carry dangerous items prohibited by aviation authorities into flights.
Owing to this, she issued a stern warning against such illegal act, citing recent incidents that compromised the safety of passengers and airport personnel.
Kuku made this known yesterday in Lagos, during a press briefing as part of activities to mark FAAN’s Safety Week.
She called for enhanced communication and collaboration among passengers, airlines, and airport security agencies to mitigate this problem which could be a threat to safety.
Kuku also spoke on the complexities arising from divergent airport and airline protocols, emphasising the need for harmonisation and strict adherence to established guidelines for the handling and packaging of dangerous goods.
She said FAAN has been proactive in addressing these concerns, conducting refresher training sessions for aviation security personnel on the identification and management of prohibited and hazardous materials.
According to her, recent incidents at Abuja and Kano airports underscored the gravity of the issue, with passengers attempting to carry acidic substances and other forbidden items onto aircraft.
Kuku recounted a particularly alarming incident in Abuja, where a passenger became belligerent when questioned about a suspicious item, reinforcing the need for heightened awareness and understanding among passengers regarding the risks associated with hazardous materials.
She explained that FAAN has seen instances where the procedure of the airport may slightly differ from that of the airline because each airline has their own procedure in terms of dangerous goods or prohibited goods and how they’re packaged.
“Immediately, we sprang into action. One of the things we did was to make sure that the Directorate of Aviation Security conducted a refresher on dangerous goods and prohibited items in line with the standard procedures.
“I believe we had two situations in Abuja and Kano airports. In Abuja, we had a passenger who came into the terminal with items. The aviation security officers had asked her if what she had was acidic in nature.
“The passenger was livid. She was upset. In fact, I understand she slapped some FAAN security officers that were there who restrained themselves because her question back to them is why should I have acid? Even the passengers sometimes do not understand what is classified as prohibited materials or what are dangerous goods,” Kuku explained.
Kuku also recalled an incident in Kano where the airport authority actually looked at those items and saw they were properly packaged.
According to her, the airline accepted the items, but indeed, they had acidic levels that were potentially dangerous and there was an incident on the aircraft which thankfully was not an unfortunate incident.
She said this was, however, another awareness and wake-up call to ensure FAAN’s procedures are aligned or well understood.
“Communication is critical and an understanding of the various security agencies that we have within the airport environment and the role that each agency or each organisation plays.
“The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) released a new version or an updated version of the National Facilitation Program, which is actually headed by the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. That program is actually domesticated at the airport level by our airport managers” she said.
The FAAN MD said while there’s a coordination that happens with the Joint Intelligence Board, which is led by the national security advisor, what FAAN has been doing a lot more is to ensure it increases training and awareness programs.
“We’re also now extending it to not just the security agencies that operate under FAAN, but to all of the security agencies within the environment.
“I know they all have their own individual protocol, but whatever we’re extending within our environment, we think that it’s important that we hammer it in as well,” Kuku said
Kuku also said FAAN would forcefully remove fuel tankers and cars parked indiscriminately around the Lagos airport environment.
She explained that parked vehicles and tankers have been identified as a major safety and security risk to the airport environment and needed to be removed immediately.
According to her, these vehicles are major encroachers, especially the ones seen on the road approaching the airport.
“There are lots of cars, lots of vehicles, and we have reached out to various organisations. I believe the Tankers Drivers Association, the limousine parks, all the buses along the airport road.
“We have continuously informed them, I believe, via engagements and also via letters around the need to move away from those locations because it’s unsafe and hazardous to the environment,” Kuku said.
She also said the presence of these vehicles does not beautify the environment.
“Over the last few weeks, we’ve embarked on potential sanitation exercises to try and understand who those inhabitants are and to give them further notice.
“We’ve also engaged the Lagos State government, and we’re working very closely with Lagos State and the federal security agencies to start to clear up that space
“So again, this is another way to appeal to all of those inhabitants to please remove themselves from those locations because we will embark on forceful action,” Kuku said.
Speaking on the theme of the safety week, ‘Navigating Conflicts for a Safer Aviation Industry in Nigeria,’ Kuku said it was carefully selected to reflect FAAN’s ongoing commitment to safety, collaboration, and the professional well-being of everyone within Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem.
