The need for security badges and permits

Published: Monday, 28 December 2015 13:16

People and vehicles accessing the airport need to be identified for security purpose. Security badges and permits are therefore necessary.

An Airport is both a public establishment and a public place. However, members of the publicare not allowed to wonder around an airport like they would do in a motor park. This is primarily to protect them, the installations, the aircraft, the passengers and the airport personnel from acts of unlawful interference with civil aviation. An airport can be a very attractive target for criminals and terrorists! Access within it is, therefore, authorised only to passengers with boarding cards and persons who have been issued airport security badges and other security permits.

Cameroon airports, especially the three international airports of Douala, Garoua and Yaoundé/Nsimalen, are delimited into three principal sectors. There is the main hall at the terminal which is a public area. Entry into and movement around this zone does not require a security badge or permit. However, it is a different case with the two other sectors.

The passenger check-in, the departure launches, the arrival and baggage reclamation zones are also in the terminal building, but they are security restricted areas. Beyond the terminal building is the airside where the aircraft, the taxing and run ways, air navigation installations and services as well as other sen-sitive installations and servitudes are found. These are security restricted areas.

Cameroon, like other States party to the International Convention on Civil Aviation, has an obligation to ensure that access to and within the security restricted zones is controlled in order to prevent unauthorised entry. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has given firm instructions on this issue: The access of persons (non passengers) into the restricted zones of the airports must be limited to only those who have well established duties to perform at the airports. The same applies to vehicles. Access into restricted zones is strictly limited to the vehicles used for operations at the aerodrome. Cameroon is, therefore, required to ensure that identification systems are established in respect to persons and vehicles to prevent unauthorised entry to and within the restricted zones. Identity must be verified at designated check points before access is allowed. To this end, a system of airport badges and vehicle permits exists at Cameroonian airports.

Identification Systems

badge-ydePersons and vehicles accessing the restricted zones must be properly identified. Different systems are used at our airports for identification of different categories of persons.

Passengers have right of passage through some restricted zones on the conditions that they must be in possession of valid travelling documents and ready to present them for inspection. They must further be in possession of valid boarding cards bearing their names.

Crew members must posses and present for inspection identification documents that conform to international standards for recognition and validation

Local Airport Badges are issued to persons regularly exercising their professional activities at the airport. On each of this badge the areas the worker is authorised to access are clearly specified. He is not authorised to go to a sector not specified on his badge. Neither can he use the local badge issued at Douala International Airport, for example, to access a similar specified sector at Yaoundé/Nsimalen Airport. The validity of this category of badges is not less than one year, but not more than two years. Its distinctive colour is blue.

badge-yde2A service badge is issued to temporary airport workers or persons who have some job to do at the airport for a short period of time. The wearer of this badge is only authorised to access the particular point where his job is situated. He cannot access other restricted sectors. It should also be noted that this badge is not the professional badge issued by the organisation or administration one is working for. The batch has no validity beyond the date of completion of the temporary job. That notwithstanding, the maximum period of validity of the badge is seven days. The distinctive colour of the badge is yellow.

Persons who do not work permanently or do not have a temporary job at an airport, but who have some brief business to carry out, or some passengers to send off or welcome, may be issued visitors badges. This badge is issued on the spot by the staff of the Aviation Security Structure at the particular airport. The wearer of the badge goes directly to the point destined for his visit, for example, arrival or departure zone. In principle, he is expected to be accompanied by an airport security officer or his host airport worker to and from his destination at the airport. He is not authorised to go to any other restricted zone. He must give back the badge at the end of his visit. The visitors badge has a green background.

As far as airport service vehicles are concerned, only vehicles carrying passes duly issued by the Chief of the Aviation Security Structure at a particular airport can drive into or around the airside for service purposes. Like the airport badges, there are different categories of airport vehicle passes. They include: the Local Airport Vehicle Pass which is blue, the Service Vehicle Pass which is yellow and the Visiting Vehicle Pass which is green. It is clearly mentioned on each vehicle pass the restricted area the vehicle is authorised access.

NDUM Fidelis NKOM

Director, Aviation Security and Facilitation(CCAA)