The Minister of State for Transport, Bello Bouba Maigari has stated Cameroon’s determination to continue to improve on the safety and security of its airports and air travel in general. Opening the second ordinary session of the National Committee on Air Safety at Djeuga Palace Hotel, Yaounde on Wednesday December 22, the Minister said the Head of State had given strict instructions to the effect that security at the country’s airports and its airspace be tightened in order to meet up with international standards. “Air safety and security have become more important because of the growing incidence of terrorism and piracy – a situation that does not only put the lives of passengers at risk, but also threatens international trade and tourism,” the Minister explained.
Support in ensuring air safety and security has come from partners such as the Federal Aviation Authority of the US, the US ‘Safe Skies in Africa’ initiative, and the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, he said. He cited last October’s re-election of Cameroon into the Council of ICAO as an achievement that needed to be followed up with the implementation of ICAO recommendations following its 2008 audit of the Yaounde-Nsimalen and Douala international airports. The audit, Minister recalled, had shown that the country still had much to do to improve the safety and security of its airports and airspace. However, since the audit, government has taken measures aimed at complying with ICAO standards. The country was now at 70 per cent compliance with the recommendations, he reassured. With the immediate challenge being the stepping up of sensitization of all airport users. He said Very Important Personality, VIP travellers needed to show the right example by also complying with airport security rules.
In this connection, the Minister of State for Transport condemned the November 19 incident at Yaounde-Nsimalen International Airport where gendarme officers on duty were sanctioned for stopping aides and members of the security suite of the Speaker of Parliament from entering a high security zone at the entrance to the control tower from going in with more than four cars. He described the incident as a serious breach of air security and safety, saying such actions could discourage airport security staff from doing their work well. “Gendarmes whose aim was to do their work well ended up being sanctioned,” he regretted.
The US government is offering Cameroon the possibility of direct flights from Douala and Yaounde-Nsimalen international airports to the US, disclosed CCAA General Manager, Kankam Pierre. All this requires huge investments in capacity building and acquisition of equipment, he said. For this reason, CCAA was working with gendarmerie and police training schools to include air safety and security in their curricula.
The one-day meeting had as objective, the examination of 2009 and 2010 activity reports and the level of implementation of ICAO recommendations on boosting air safety and security.
