Opinion (Rogério COPETO / Official GNR): SAFETY IN AERODROMES AND AIRPORTS NATIONAL
Was it more the title and not so much the article entitled "Crimes. Aerodromes with little control", published in the 30 July SOL newspaper and the journalist Carlos Diogo Santos, which led to the development of chronic this week.
Rogério COPETO
Lieutenant Colonel of the GNR, Master in Law and Security and Homeland Security Auditor
Head of the Education Division / Command Doctrine and Training
Reading of that title can be concluded that the Portuguese aerodromes are with little control with regard to their safety, but only to read the entire article, only available in paper edition, we can see that the little control that the national airfields have is from the Tax Authority and the Border Foreign Service, as mentioned in its paragraph "Passengers and goods arriving to the Portuguese airfields are rarely controlled by the Tax Authority and in some aerodromes surveillance Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) It is also casual."
It seems as soon as the article title is excessive, because generalizes the lack of control in all the airfields and the same text is reducing, since the screening of passengers and goods in airport infrastructure is not the sole responsibility of those authorities, It is assigned this responsibility in the first instance, the security force, GNR ou PSP, where the aerodrome or airport is, in compliance with the rules of the Civil Aviation Safety, proceeding to the inspection of all passengers and respective baggage.
But the article also provides a map of Portugal, with the caption "Airfields 'No control' in Portugal", generalising once again the lack of control on all existing airfields in Portugal, and that the map reading we learn that there are five identified airfields and which are located in Bragança, Coimbra, Cascais, Evora and Portimão and an airport located in Beja, where it is stated that "It is the airfield used by Embraer project and therefore has a great relevance"And Aerodrome of Évora is stated that" qlmost is always closed and only a few planes land". At this point it should be noted that the Embraer company is headquartered in Évora Aerodrome and Beja Airport is an infrastructure that is certified to receive international flights, which unfortunately does not happen as often as desired.
So, said map to identify five airfields and airport excludes some of the main national airports, including aerodrome Ponte Sor, where is a health pilot training, the Vila Real and Viseu, the latter constituting, along with the Bragança, Tires e Portimão, the air link intracontinental Bragança-Vila Real-Viseu-Cascais-Portimão, which is in full operation since December last year, GNR being territorially responsible entity for the safety of Bragança airfield, Vila Real, Viseu, Portimão, where does the supervision of people and goods, in compliance with the rules of the Civil Aviation Safety, military with the feature formed by the GNR and certified by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (ANAC).
It may appear that the subject matter in Article recurs, checks through a quick search, that occurrences in multiple aerodromes and existing tracks in Portugal, They are sporadic and occur in periods of five years, verifying the existence of an event in February 2005, when the Judicial Police seized 277 kilos of hashish on board a light plane that landed on a runway in Beja, having so motivated to work in progress 14 March 2005, the article entitled "There are dozens of airstrips to operate without control across the country"The journalist Mariana Oliveira Public.
Four years later, Correio da Manhã back to talk about, in the article entitled "Small airfields untended" from 6 April 2009, which gives to know that " Judiciary Police (PJ) calls for more security measures for existing small airfields in the country, claiming untended tracks are more likely to be used for drug trafficking or terrorist actions. However, the National Institute of Civil Aviation (INAC) He claims not to be able to monitor all these clues, some of which hit the ground."
Um because of sequestro de uma plane and is not aerodrome Tires, whose aircraft was in Évora Airport, held in February 2010, the Daily News in its edition of 15 February this year, published an article called "Aircraft without any control in national aerodromes", of the journalist Luis Maneta, who returns to speak at the lack of control of national airfields, where police sources related to civil aviation said it "At aerodromes is not required flight plan and safety procedures are minimal. Aircraft such as PAC 750 XL that Friday was kidnapped in Évora and crashed near Tires circulate through Portuguese airspace without flight plan or any type of control. "
Since the last reference to the lack of control at aerodromes was broadcast on SIC reporting 17 February 2016 with the title "Supervisory lack the aerodrome Tires", echoing the concerns of SEF unions and Customs which are denounced "... Serious failures in the supervision of private flights landing at the aerodrome of Tires, from countries outside the European Union", warning yet "... The lack of supervision can open the door to drug trafficking, weapons and money laundering."
By coincidence, Also on 30 July, and despite having been the main domestic airport and not an aerodrome, I could not fail to mention the occurrence, he held and still holds, all the Media (OCS) on Saturday, of detention 5 Algerians, that entered a restricted area of ​​Humberto Delgado Airport, such as online newspaper Observer realizes in his article of the same day 30 July, entitled "Algerians detained in the airport runway without terrorist links", stating that after the detection of four men of Algerian nationality on the airport runways, were the same held by PSP, which concludes treat yourself to "... People who sought an opportunity to reach Europe", having committed the same “…crime disturbance in the air transport, They can be tried in summary and be immediately extradited".
As mentioned, it aroused the interest of all OCS and on Monday the 1 August the newspaper I, in the article entitled "Airport. Invasion of the track does not justify strengthening security", authored by journalist Marta Cerqueira reports, second source of PSP, detainees "... They entered the runway through an emergency exit ... which can not be closed for security reasons ... and that evil is forced to its opening, the security system which provides for the immediate action of the authorities is activated. "
But even after the explanations of the safety authority of Huberto Delgado Airport, on the arrest of Algerian citizens in a restricted area of ​​that airport, SEF union came forward claiming to have been failures, as SIC reporting 1 August called "Union SEF said that there was security flaws at Lisbon airport".
We finished concluding that the safety of aerodromes and domestic airports is effectively guaranteed by the security forces, responsible for them, nome adam ente a GNR e a PSP, and so the Portuguese can rest, porque quer a GNR, or PSP, have trained and qualified personnel to meet any threat that might occur in such airport infrastructure.
Editor's Note (n.d.r): After a well-deserved vacation, is back a magnificent contributors LN. Excellent professional and a friend of his friend. For its wide availability. The LN welcomes his return.
