The Director General of the airports Council International in Europe (Airports Council International Europe, ACIE) Olivier Jankovec sent on 28 April a letter to the Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, which called to cancel the inspection at the entrances to the airports. This may 11, according to “Vedomosti”, which examined a copy of the letter.
Jankovec says that full inspections at the entrances to the airports from the point of view of counter-attacks counter-productive, since the queue resulting from such inspection, represent a target for attackers. According to him, the airport “Ben Gurion” tel Aviv, which is considered a model of safety, there is no inspection at the entrance to the terminal. Instead, the Israeli authorities use an integrated approach: gathering intelligence, recognize car number plates, study the records from surveillance cameras analyze the behavior of the people and resort to the help of handlers with dogs.
The letter States that the meeting ACIE in Madrid in mid-April was discussed the issue of security in public access zones at airports, and summarized the results of the March terrorist attack in Brussels, where an explosion of a suicide bomber killed 17 people, as well as other similar cases including the terrorist attack in Domodedovo in 2011, when 37 people were killed.
“In Russia, a mandatory continuous inspection at the entrances to the terminals introduced in 2011 after the terrorist attack in Domodedovo, this subject arose in connection with the airports of Brussels: a similar letter we sent to the Belgian authorities, as in Belgium, too, is systematic inspection of inputs and it harms security,” writes Jankovic. He also recalled that after the attack in Brussels, the European Commission did not recommend that at EU level the entry inspection at the entrance to the terminal, precisely because such a measure creates its own risks.
In his letter, the CEO ACIE also notes that safety and security at airports should not be responsible operators of aircraft units, and law enforcement agencies. Zone sharing airports, he said, is a public space that should not be subject to the requirements of aviation security. In Europe follow that policy and here Russia is a notable exception that abnormally and speaks about the Russia’s refusal to fulfill the responsibilities of the state,” — said Jankovica “Vedomosti”.
The words of Anchoveta on the liability of operators of air harbours was made on the background of a criminal investigation against the owner of Domodedovo Dmitry Mason and three other airport officials who are charged under article 238 of the RF criminal code (rendering services not meeting requirements of safety, entailed death of two and more persons). The consequence considers that the guidance introduced Domodedovo in 2010, the screening technology has lowered the security of the airport and allowed the suicide bomber to enter the building and detonate a bomb.
Jankovec notes that his letter is Advisory in nature, since Russia is a sovereign state and decide the security issues at their airports.
In early April, the Ministry of transport took the initiative at the legislative level to make a constant continuous inspection of passengers and baggage at the entrance to airports, regardless of the presence or absence of the terrorist threat. Now screening at the entrance is conducted on the basis introduced in the year 2100, high level of security.
