The suicide bomb attack at the departure hall of Brussels’ Zaventem Airport on Tuesday has prompted several countries worldwide to review or tighten airport security and raised questions about when passengers should be screened when entering airport or train terminals.
In Nigeria, the management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), announced wednesday that it had beefed up security in and around all the airports in the country.
Speaking on the steps being taken to avoid a reenactment of the Brussels incident in the country, the General Manager, Public Affairs of FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati, said sniffer dogs had been deployed to airports in conjunction with the Nigerian Police Force.
Dati also said FAAN would not leave any stone unturned to ensure maximum security at the airport, especially with the Easter celebrations around the corner.
He said all body and luggage scanners and closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras were operational, beaming activities at all the airports and advised passengers to arrive the airport on time to conclude their check-in procedures on time in order not to miss their flights.
Dati also advised air passengers not to leave any luggage behind, as unattended items would be taken away and destroyed.
Reuters reported that investigators said the blast at the Zaventem Airport, which serves more than 23 million passengers a year, was believed to have been executed by suicide bombers connected to the November Paris attacks. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the twin attacks in Brussels.
Authorities in major airports around the world immediately responded by stepping up the number of police on patrol at airports in London, Paris and Frankfurt and at other transport hubs, as Brussels train services were also halted after its metro station was attacked.
According to Reuters, in the United States, the country’s largest cities were placed on high alert and the National Guard was called in to increase security at New York City’s two airports.
Speaking on the threat at airports, aviation security expert, Adebayo Babatunde said FAAN should ensure continuous profiling of security personnel and advise the agency to acquire and deploy more technology-driven equipment at the airports to avert human failure and insider threats.
He noted that terrorists continue to advance their strategies while efforts are being made to invent tech-driven security gadgets that can detect and preempt the obnoxious activities of terrorists.
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