Police Cutbacks Spark Belfast International Airport Terrorism Fears

January 12, 2004

Police Cutbacks Spark Airport Terrorism Fears 
The Scotsman, UK

International terrorists plotting to attack Britain
could exploit police cuts at Belfast International
Airport to launch a strike, it was claimed today.

With armed guards patrolling the terminal slashed by a
third, an ex-officer insisted patrols could not cope
with the heightened threat.

Margaret Garrett said: “Anyone planning to hit London
or Birmingham now has a greater chance through
Belfast.

“BIA is leaving itself at greater risk of being used
by terrorists targeting any major city in the UK.” 

Ms Garrett, 56, spoke out after losing her
£30,000-a-year job staffing the operation control room
in a move she alleged was down to cost cutting.

During 16 years duty the former Royal Ulster
Constabulary officer also dealt with bomb alerts and
arrested disruptive passengers threatening flight
safety.

But amid fears of fresh al Qaida attacks on the west,
she was dumbfounded by the decision to axe her and 14
colleagues late last year.

Redundancies at BIA – the only UK airport to employ
its own police force saw constabulary strength cut
from 43 to 28 officers.

The authorities stressed all redundancies were
approved by the Government after a review found less
need for armed police.

Extra civilian security guards have also been
recruited to monitor more than four million passengers
who use BIA annually.

“We haven’t removed people from security posts, it’s
the type of security that has changed because people
have been matched to the new requirements,” a BIA
spokesman said.

Yet officers were shocked when the Northern Ireland
Security Minister Jane Kennedy told them in December
that the perceived threat from terrorists has
“diminished“.

Even Belfast’s regional City Airport has responded by
drafting in up to 30 armed guards, Ms Garrett claimed.

“If there was anything to happen at the airport the
manning levels are now so low that I just don’t see
how they are going to be able to cope with it,” she
argued.

“There’s a greater chance that a terrorist
organisation will be able to penetrate security.”

Ms Garrett, who joined the airport constabulary in
1987 after an eight year career in the RUC, warned
that restricted areas may now be breached.

“There’s more than one way to board an aircraft or get
access to cargo,” she said.

“Not everything goes through central search and if you
don’t have patrols going on then I fear for the
public.

“Are unarmed guards going to attack someone who
produces a knife? They are not trained to overpower
people.”

But management insisted security and safety remained
of paramount importance.

The spokesman said: “Belfast International Airport is
the only non-designated airport in the UK to maintain
its own dedicated police force.

“The airport operates stringent security measures,
which are fully in line with, and in some cases
exceed, the Northern Ireland 
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