Cecilia Abena Dapaah briefing journalists
The Minister of Aviation, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, has called for close collaboration among countries in the sub-region and the world at large to ensure the security of air passengers globally.
She disclosed this while speaking on Tuesday, April 17, this year in Accra at the opening session of the Sub-Saharan Africa Aviation Security Regional Workshop.
It was attended by participants from about 24 countries.
The workshop was organized by Ghana, in collaboration with the United Kingdom (UK) Department for Transport, UK Ministry of Defence and the British High Commission Accra to provide the platform for deliberating on best practices for ensuring aviation security within the sub-region.
According to her, aviation security should be seen as a shared responsibility among countries globally.
Making reference to the recent attacks on airports in Brussels, Belgium and Istanbul, Turkey, the Minister emphasized that close collaboration and sharing of information among states and stakeholders continue to be of utmost importance to ensure the provision of a secure aviation environment to protect the global community.”
She said that “all states must foster a culture of security among various airport staff and stakeholders other than aviation security personnel within their countries.”
She added that “it’s important that the relevant aviation security agencies in all states work and coordinate closely with other airport stakeholders whose primary responsibility may not be aviation security.”
The Minister indicated that “considering the growing complexity of aviation security challenges faced by states, it’s critical that all levels of airport personnel are provided with at least a baseline appreciation and understanding of the importance of aviation security and the implications of preventing and effectively dealing with acts of unlawful interference.”
In continuing, she explained that “periodic aviation security refresher sessions, updates and awareness training would be useful and necessary, when provided to all airport personnel.”
Commenting on measures being undertaken to provide aviation security in Ghana, the Minister observed that the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL) has implemented key initiatives and conducted periodic training programmes to increase the number of aviation security personnel.
She added that “the GACL has also invested in technology by installing Active Millimetre Wave Body Scanners to enhance aviation security for passengers and cabin baggage for international flights.”
By Melvin Tarlue