Mid-air Hijack Bid Conjures Up Scary Security Scenario

AN ATTEMPTED aircraft hijacking in Australia has sent shivers down the international aviation industry. What is most worrisome is the fact that the weapons used to attack the cabin staff were undetected by the comprehensive security uniformly used at airports. The mild-mannered computer engineer boarded the jet aircraft with sharpened, wooden stakes in his backpack.

A few minutes after the plane's take-off from Melbourne on May 29, 40 year old Mark Robinson rushed towards the cockpit, brandishing his weapons. He repeatedly stabbed a steward in the back of the head, and a stewardess in the face close to her right eye, while the cabin crew and passengers desperately tried to subdue the crazed man. It was these heroes who saved the passengers and crew from a repeat of the September 11 suicide dive to the ground. After the man was subdued, the jet aircraft made an emergency return to Melbourne airport.

Now, alarm bells are ringing everywhere as airport security staff face up to the shattering realisation that the new precautions and protocols are all useless against determined and deranged people. This was not a terrorist attack but clearly has its genesis in the simplicity of the Al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington. Those terrorists too, used small sharpened steel objects. Wooden objects are supposed to be detected and displayed when hand luggage is screened by X-ray equipment. But even if they were seen by staff, their potential for damage was not realised at Melbourne. Therefore, an atmosphere verging on pandemonium is sweeping Australian airport management, and no doubt other countries too. This was the most violent hijacking attempt in Australian history, which has prompted a massive and urgent review of airport security. Many precautions are already in place, set up in the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The Australian government has put 110 armed sky marshals on randomly selected domestic flights. Unfortunately, none were present on this aircraft. In fact the national flight attendants' union says the sky marshals are not seen too often.

The federal government has implemented screening of carry-on baggage on domestic jet flights with more than 40 passengers. However, this leaves more than 1,000 airports in the vast continent of Australia without any screening procedures. A state premier, Bob Carr, warned on Sunday that security at regional airports was lax. "They are pretty open to all comers," he said. "They haven't got metal detectors or the other devices that you've got at the international and the big metropolitan airports."

The federal government will not pick up the tab to upgrade security at all airports, especially the ones operating in the more remote areas. Small regional airlines operating between them and the major cities cannot afford the cost. Reinforced security doors are being installed progressively outside cockpits on Australian domestic aircraft. Australian domestic airlines have been given until November to install the tougher security doors on their fleets. The cockpit door on the Qantas aircraft leaving Melbourne was locked but had not been reinforced. The shocked federal government is now considering extreme security measures, including body searching passengers in the wake of the near disaster over Melbourne. The government is now considering 'patting down' passengers because a metal detector cannot raise the alarm over wooden stakes.

The government is also considering an increase in the number of sky marshals, and bringing forward the deadline for installing more security cockpit doors. Australian Attorney-General Daryl Williams is drafting legislation to give greater powers to security officers patrolling airports to detain and frisk suspicious passengers. However, Qantas chief executive officer Geoff Dixon is warning that knee-jerk reactions to the attempted hijacking could paralyse Australia's aviation industry. He is concerned about the suggestion to put armed, plainclothes sky marshals on every flight, for this would cost the industry millions of dollars. A full body search of all domestic passengers would add two hours to each flight, he warned.

Despite the threat of terrorist attacks, a report has found gaping holes in Australia's airline security. An aviation security review found that potentially serious security breaches went unpunished by the regulatory authority, the Federal Transport department. The team conducting the review found that they could gain access to aircraft and a cargo shed at a major Australian airport. Their report said that despite regular breaches of security at airports around the country, there were no prosecutions. Of particular concern was the lack of routine screening for packages taken to freight terminals.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard denies that there is an aviation security crisis, saying the wooden stakes could be carried on airlines anywhere around the world. An hour before the attempted hijacking, Howard was telling a hushed federal parliament that new intelligence indicated Australia was in Al Qaeda's cross-hairs since as long ago as 2000, the year of the Sydney Olympics. "New information has come to light indicating that Al Qaeda explored possible targets in Australia in 2000 or 2001," he said. "These reports indicate that Al Qaeda's interest in mounting attacks in Australia actually pre-date the September 11, attacks in New York and Washington." Howard did not say what targets the terrorists might have looked at. He also repeated his well worn line that Australia was not at increased threat of attack because of its role in the Iraq war. "Rather, Al Qaeda's interest in attacking Australia derives from the fact that we are a Western nation with Western values," he said.