Brussels attack and Nigeria airports

Lagos Airport

By Ariyo Akinfenwa

The world woke up on the morning of 22  March 2016 like every other day. The waking up on this day is not like every other day because it came with tripple bangs. The tripple bangs all happened at Zaventem Airport and the Maelbeek Metro Station  in Brussels, Belgium. They were not  good bangs at all because they were bomb blasts and so many innocent passengers' lives were lost and throw the whole world into mourning mood.

On the morning of 22 March 2016, three coordinated bombings occurred in Belgium: two at Brussels Airport in Zaventem by 8.00 am and one at Maelbeek metro station in Brussels by 9.11a.m. In these attacks, at least 31 victims and two suicide bombers were killed, and 250 other people were injured, resulting in three days of national mourning in Belgium. An assault rifle and a third bomb were found during a search of the airport

The monstrous attacks (Bomb blasts) on the Zaventem Airport and the Maelbeek Metro station in Brussels Belgium, has called for proactive and not reactive measures in and around our  nation’s airports to avert  similar incident.

It is of note that the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO is currently carrying out a universal safety audit on Nigeria aviation industry, the airports inclusive and it will end in two days .

Also, the officials of the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA) assessed the safety status of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and commended the security apparatus, saying the security system was in line with the recommendations of ICAO.

TSA gave the compliment at the end of its security assessment and “expressed deep satisfaction at the level of compliance with ICAO standard and recommended practices in the airport.”

Despite the compliment by TSA, FAAN should not rest on its oars as the bomb blasts  in Brussels exposed the laxity in their security control at the airport. How the bombs escape the security system at the Brussels airport is a question yet to be answered.

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN as a matter of urgency should step up the security apparatus at the nation’s airports. More attention should be given to the rush hours and festive holidays because of the traffic at these times.

Closed-circuit television, CCTV should be functioning optimally for the video surveillance of the airports. This important gadget is currently assisting the Belgian security to manhunt one of the supposed suspects of the bomb blasts at the Brussels airport.

Bomb alert system should be upgraded. 

If the airports authority is prepared for any unforeseen incident, the public need to know the level of preparedness. This will give passengers confidence on their security and also likely keep perpetrators at bay.

Our airports need to be safer.