The Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, on Monday solicited the support of heads of all security agencies at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos to tackle the persistent problems of touting and harassment of passengers at screening points of the airport.
At the meeting held on Monday during which “Operation AirClean” was launched, Kuku confirmed that the initiative was based on the directive of the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo.
According to her, it had become imperative for the FAAN to clean up airport terminals and eliminate unpatriotic practices among officers, hence the call to action of the leaders of security agencies.
The FAAN boss explained that the initiative was developed to improve collaboration among agencies and to streamline passenger search processes, ultimately enhancing the overall travel experience.
In addition, Kuku maintained that it also was also launched to eliminate extortion and harassment of passengers, as well as to completely eradicate touting activities at the airport.
To achieve the objectives, she directed the immediate dismantling of search tables at screening points and mandated that technology be leveraged to reduce manual searches and improve interactions with passengers, adding that collaboration and intelligence sharing among agencies are also deemed essential for enhancing service delivery.
The Authority’s Chief Executive hinted that the management would deploy mystery shoppers equipped with body cameras to assess the performance of officials at both arrival and departure security and screening areas.
Kuku reaffirmed that FAAN directors would actively engage in monitoring efforts, and existing task forces were directed to intensify their activities. Any officer found guilty of misconduct must be reported to their agency head without delay.
The meeting had in attendance, representatives from the Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Immigration Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Nigerian Quarantine Service, Nigerian Police Force, Directorate of Security Service, Nigerian Customs Service, and Aviation Security Services.
