"Australian airport stray may have used staff entry"

Friday, July 9, 2004

Airport stray may have used staff entry
By Alexandra Smith and Scott Rochfort
Australia - The Sydney Morning Herald


A 32-year-old man who skipped all security checks at Sydney Airport and
attempted to board a Qantas plane without a passport or ticket may have
entered the departure area through a staff door.

No charges will be laid against the man, who brought the airport to a
standstill on Wednesday when he was discovered in a secure section of
the international departures lounge without travel documentation.

It was also alleged the man managed to dodge Customs Service screenings.

A Customs spokesman said there is more than one potential way in before
the restricted area.

It is understood airport staff who use the staff channel bypass the
customs and immigration checkpoints.

Australian Federal Police arrested the man about 9.30am after Qantas
staff apprehended him as he tried to walk around a boarding pass
processing machine and board a Los Angeles-bound plane.

He was taken to hospital after telling police he had a medical
condition. He was later released.

The security scare meant at least 7000 passengers from 28 international
flights had to be taken off aircraft and out of the departure area to
re-screened, causing significant delays for most flights.

The chief executive of the airport, Max Moore-Wilton, said yesterday the
re-screening of all passengers may have been an over-reaction.

Mr Moore-Wilton told ABC radio that customs procedures at the
international terminal may need to be tightened and security measures
increased.

A spokeswoman for the federal Department of Transport and Regional
Services, which is leading the investigation, said the man at the centre
of the breach was screened by X-ray machines, which are the
responsibility of the airport's security staff.

She would not comment on how the man reached the screening machines
without travel documents or whether he entered through the staff
channel.

The security breach - the second at the airport in a week - came as the
Transport Workers Union raised concerns over what is says is a lack of
appropriate security screening among employees at the airport.

Employees could dodge the ASIO and police screening checks, a spokesman
said.


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