Airports Fiji Limited in collaboration with Air Terminal Services is looking to beef up its cargo defence line by introducing X-Ray as technical enablers.

This was part of the submission by Airports Fiji Limited’s general manager Air Traffic Management Aviation, Isei Tudreu, to the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.

Mr Tudreu made the submissions at Airports Fiji Limited, Aviation Academy, Namaka in Nadi yesterday.

He said the cargo department needed the X-ray machine to conduct intensive checks.

“When it comes to cargo, we do not have the technical enabler or the machines that can scan to conduct some defence for us as a state,” Mr Tudreu said.

“We have operational enablers. In other words, we have manual processes, but all these manual processes are vulnerable to human factors.

“So if the officers are tired and are conducting a visual inspection it will have an impact on whether he is able to arrest something that has been able to break the defence line.

“If you bring any cargo through to Fiji through Post Office or Air Terminal Services, we have only operational enablers which are susceptible to human factor issue.

“These are regulated by Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAF).”

He said a K9 Unit usually conducted the checks.

Committee member Mataiasi Niumataiwalu said they were going to send recommendations to Government for the issue to be brought up during the submissions.

The committee heard submissions from stakeholders in the Border Control Agencies in the western division as well.

Edited by Ranoba Baoa

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