Khan: Piarco airport remains on high alert

PIARCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT will remain on a state of high alert for the next 48 hours in the wake of bomb threats which caused it to be shut down for two hours on Thursday night. This was the word yesterday from Works and Transport Minister Franklyn Khan, who praised the efficiency shown by the security forces and the Airport Authority in dealing with such a delicate situation.

Chronicling the sequence of events on Thursday afternoon from 3.07 pm (when the threats were first called in) to 6 pm when the airport was closed, the Minister said several incoming and outgoing flights were delayed but operations at Piarco were now back to normal. However, Khan indicated that “we will maintain high risk for at least a couple of days” just as a precautionary measure. The Minister said the security measures now put in place at Piarco include additional screening of passengers, traffic restrictions in certain areas and additional land and air security patrols. Asked if Thursday’s events meant a review of current security mechanisms at the airport was necessary, Khan said the fact that the situation was dealt with in only two hours shows that the existing security mechanisms worked “very well.”

He explained that these systems have been developed through Government’s ongoing collaboration with both the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the United States Department of Homeland Security. Khan reiterated that Government took all threats to the nation’s security very seriously. The Minister said Prime Minister Patrick Manning was scheduled to return home later in the evening and gave the assurance that he “will be well taken care of.” The Prime Minister left the country on Wednesday to attend the Ninth Special Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of Caricom. When contacted yesterday, senior Airport Authority officials confirmed that Piarco was “back to normal.”