Security Incident on JetStar Flight at AVV

[drron]

The terminal at MEL was initially a tweeked design of the SYD international terminal.

 

[Balad2005]

It’s been a long running fight between Hobart Airport and the Federal police after the Federal police gave up about five or six years ago, even when the seasonal international flights run. HBA is#8 busiest in n Australia. Tasmania police do patrol the airport but I don’t think it’s full-time.

No doubt FF members would have seen the announcement of a national risk management review for regional airports.This may be reassuring but to be realistic if someone really wants to get they will. What counts is being able to detect them once they are inside .
Several years ago I was at a regional airport when an intruder in broad daylight managed to hop the rather high fence and get past a fairly heavily patrolled area.The only warring was the media turning up at a side gate as the intruder was a single issue protester and had forewarned the media that something was going to occur.
Still air travel remains the statistically safest way to travel.

 

[Scarlett]

This is the crux of the problem: a sufficiently motivated person WILL gain access.

The current ‘review’ is just the bureaucratic process to be expected: relevant politicians have to be seen to be taking security seriously. But they also likely know that securing 5Km of fencing is sort of pointless. A basic barbed wire topped fence as we currently see is easily penetrated with a pair of tin snips. Say that gets replaced by stronger wire, then the kid who just pulled up in a stolen car to cut the wire just drives the car through the fence. Or see how Hamas militants gained relatively easy access to Israel on 7 October… no one is going to fund reinforced concrete barriers around every airport, so probably no change from the current set up which just keeps the honest people out.

Then you have the issues of who has genuine access via ASIC passes…

Remember also about a fortnight ago that a lady walked through CBR security and then accessed the tarmac area. Does that need to be ‘reviewed’ or enhanced as well? Interesting from the vision of that event, that those security contractors appeared to have no authority to physically stop the person.

There is also then the appropriate focus on monitoring of the tarmac area: it’s good that is being considered.

What it all comes back to is how do you sensibly balance the needs for security related deterrence, checking and monitoring, with allowing a relatively free flow of pax and cargo movement AND doing that without making it prohibitively expensive.

I suspect the review will be quietly filed on a shelf in a server somewhere and we’ll continue on with the current processes. Chalk it up to the fact there will always be those who take advantage of a mostly free and open society, to do the wrong thing, either deliberately or through stupidity.

 

[DC3]

Oh and the Qantas First lounge is better in Melbourne than Sydney too!

I’d say enough of us have been to both First Lounges to know a humorous comment when we see it.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

This is the crux of the problem: a sufficiently motivated person WILL gain access.

The current ‘review’ is just the bureaucratic process to be expected: relevant politicians have to be seen to be taking security seriously. But they also likely know that securing 5Km of fencing is sort of pointless. A basic barbed wire topped fence as we currently see is easily penetrated with a pair of tin snips. Say that gets replaced by stronger wire, then the kid who just pulled up in a stolen car to cut the wire just drives the car through the fence. Or see how Hamas militants gained relatively easy access to Israel on 7 October… no one is going to fund reinforced concrete barriers around every airport, so probably no change from the current set up which just keeps the honest people out.

Then you have the issues of who has genuine access via ASIC passes…

Remember also about a fortnight ago that a lady walked through CBR security and then accessed the tarmac area. Does that need to be ‘reviewed’ or enhanced as well? Interesting from the vision of that event, that those security contractors appeared to have no authority to physically stop the person.

There is also then the appropriate focus on monitoring of the tarmac area: it’s good that is being considered.

What it all comes back to is how do you sensibly balance the needs for security related deterrence, checking and monitoring, with allowing a relatively free flow of pax and cargo movement AND doing that without making it prohibitively expensive.

I suspect the review will be quietly filed on a shelf in a server somewhere and we’ll continue on with the current processes. Chalk it up to the fact there will always be those who take advantage of a mostly free and open society, to do the wrong thing, either deliberately or through stupidity.

Cost is going to be the issue, but I understand you can either electrify the fence, or install motion detectors or the like.

You might not need to absolutely prevent an entry, but alert that an entry is occurring and allow security to respond.

If ships can install motion detectors to alert that a person has fallen overboard, there must be something similar that can be installed around a perimeter?

 

[jase05]

Cost is going to be the issue, but I understand you can either electrify the fence, or install motion detectors or the like.

You might not need to absolutely prevent an entry, but alert that an entry is occurring and allow security to respond.

If ships can install motion detectors to alert that a person has fallen overboard, there must be something similar that can be installed around a perimeter?

Edinburgh was locked down last year when a bloke scaled the fence and started running around the base.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Edinburgh was locked down last year when a bloke scaled the fence and started running around the base.

I suppose that’s ok? As long as the person is detected.

In this recent AVV incident the person wasn’t even challenged it seems until they got to the aircraft door.

What we don’t want is knee-jerk reactions… remember plastic cutlery? No baggage except for a single plastic bag? We’re *still* having to take shoes off in the USA, and more recently, in Dubai! Crazy.

 

[Quickstatus]

Unfortunately, one failure is all it takes.

It is not possible to be secure all the time

 

[markis10]

If only you knew what happened at SYD in the past……can’t say thanks to the official secrets act but it’s an eye opener. Having said that, reality is the biggest risk to security is “the insider”, not some random person trying to cut a hole in the fence (good luck at SYD trying that).

 

[Saab34]

The Australian reports that the court has obtained a suppression order to stop the reporting of any foreign links involved to this gent with the event.

Not sure if that’s normal, but would be interesting to backtrack on his prior activity. No doubt some potential connections online perhaps? Terrorism link can’t be ruled out then.