FAAN Boss Advocates Single Screening Process For Passengers

…Stops Proliferation Of Protocol Services

LAGOS – Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, the Man­aging Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), has canvassed for consolidated and seamless screening process for air travellers to improve trav­el experience within the nation’s airports.

Kuku has also with immediate effect stopped the proliferation of protocol services at all the nation’s airports.

Kuku made the call on Wednesday during an interaction with the Airline Operators Com­mittee (AOC) and heads of secu­rity agencies under the umbrella of Airport Security Committee at the Murtala Muhammed Interna­tional Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

A statement by Mrs. Obiageli Orah, the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, FAAN, said that Kuku was peeved by the mul­tiple screening layers air travellers have to undergo whenever they are travelling at any Nigerian airports.

She explained that these mul­tiple screenings create bad travel experiences for the passengers on the long run, but noted that con­solidated security layers would enhance travel.

Checks by Daily Independent indicate that there are about eight identifiable aviation security lay­ers outside the National Intelli­gence at the nation’s airports.

The security layers are airline pre-passenger screening; count­er-checking screening, airport access control, airport checkpoint screening, airline passengers sec­ondary screening for boarding, on-board screening, carry-on luggage screening and checked in baggage screening.

At these various screening points, there are numerous per­sonnel of security agencies in­cluding the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Police, National Drug Law Enforce­ment Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Police Bomb Squad and others.

Kuku declared that airlines and security agencies should pri­oritise passenger facilitation and comfort as well as see the airports as an integral part of their duties.

Besides, she decried prolifer­ation of protocol services by the personnel of various agencies.

Kuku insisted that this contra­vened the Executive Order 001 of 2017 of the Federal Government and undermined protocol activ­ities of FAAN Protocol Unit and that of Ministry of Foreign Af­fairs (MFA).

She maintained that the MFA had the sole responsibility of at­tending to designated government officials, while the Passenger Sup­port Service (PSS) of FAAN is saddled with the responsibility of handling corporate organisations.

These services, she said, are being paid for.

The FAAN boss urged agen­cies to liaise with them when the need arises.

She also addressed the various concerns of the airports, espe­cially the state of infrastructure, which she said may not change overnight, but explained that in the interim, some stopgap mea­sures were being put in place to create comfort for travellers and other airport users.

She declared that major issues concerning the infrastructure are being addressed gradually.

The statement emphasised further that the airline operators used the opportunity to share their pains of operating at the na­tion’s airports, especially at the Lagos airport.

Some of the challenges men­tioned are baggage belts, bag­gage handling system (BHS), the re-opening of the E Wing, payment for avio bridges and the general ambience of the airports, among others.