"Stowaways put spotlight on airport security"

Monday, November 26, 2007

Stowaways put spotlight on airport security  
By Liaw Wy-Cin
Singapore - The Straits Times


AIRCRAFT stowaways enjoy a free plane ride, but the big catch is that they
may not get to their destinations alive. 

They risk freezing temperatures, suffocation, being crushed or falling to
their deaths - crouched as they usually are in the plane's wheel well. 

The danger to their lives aside, stowaways - and there have been two in the
last two months on Singapore Airlines (SIA) planes - have put the focus on
airports' ground security. 

Aviation experts say stowaways generally pose no security threat to
aircraft, but the fact that they have been able to gain access to planes
means there are loopholes in security around aircraft and airport perimeters
- loopholes which can be exploited for ill intent. 

That the second of the two incidents involved a cargo plane also raises
questions about their security, generally less stringent than for passenger
planes. 

Last month, a Palestinian man fell out of the nose wheel well of an SIA
passenger plane at Changi Airport after the plane arrived from Kuala Lumpur.


Charges against him were dropped here and in Malaysia but he could still be
charged by the Palestinian government when he returns there. 

Then, earlier this month, in the incident involving a cargo plane, a man
believed to be an Indian national was found in one of six passenger seats an
hour into the seven-hour flight from the Middle East to the Netherlands. 

He is believed to be still under investigation in Sharjah in the United Arab
Emirates. 

When contacted, SIA spokesman Stephen Forshaw said these incidents
underscored the need for airlines to work with the airport authorities to
strengthen security surrounding airports and aircraft. 

He told The Straits Times: 'The acceptable goal must be that no person can
gain access to an aircraft without first, appropriate documentation, and
second, access screening.'


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