IT, security curb airport theft

By Leon Engelbrecht, ITWeb senior writer

Johannesburg, 26 Feb 2008

Better IT and a dedicated baggage security team cut baggage pilferage 44% since December, says the Airports Company of SA (ACSA).

"It has gone down very sharply," says ACSA director for airport operations Bongani Maseko.

South African airports, in particular OR Tambo International Airport (ORT), have become notorious for the theft of baggage, or for the removal of valuable items from luggage, mostly by ground staff.

Public enterprises minister Alec Erwin last year said the number of thefts on national and domestic flights fell within recognised international benchmarks, but ORT spokesperson Nothemba Noruwana last month said even so, one theft was one too many.

She said the airport handles "roughly one million pieces of luggage every month. Even if we only had 0.1% of those pilfered, there would be 1 000 travellers who have been negatively affected.

"Clearly, no matter how small the number, there is cause for concern - especially for the person experiencing the theft. As long as there is even one passenger who experiences any tampering of their baggage, pilferage will be a key area of concern for the airport."

Noruwana said 7 313 280 bags were handled on domestic flights between January 2005 and February 2007, of which 5 720, or 0.078%, were reported stolen. The figure for international flights during the same period was 3 414 bags - or 0.116% - out of 2 942 652 items.

Maseko yesterday told reporters that not all airlines shared crime statistics with ACSA, but "from the airlines we do get statistics from, we can confirm that the problem has been reduced by 44% from where we started in December to today".

"In December, we started what we call the baggage reaction team, at a cost of R250 000 a month, at ORT. Their job is to look after people's bags." The unit is headed by a former New Scotland Yard detective.

IT works

Maseko says existing ICT also supports the team and consideration is being given to expanding the current bar-coded baggage tracking system to one involving RFID.

"CCTV has corked for us," Maseko says. "I can confirm it has worked effectively. We also have covert cameras that have worked miracles in identifying suspects. But you can have all the technology in the world... if you don't have the appropriate supervision and systems in place... there will be no improvement in cutting pilferage.

Maseko says domestic airlines may choose their ground handling providers. Ground handlers are responsible for baggage handling, as well as a plethora of other tasks, such as moving and cleaning aircraft and loading food and provisions - in addition to baggage.

He says, while some airlines have been plagued by theft, others have not. "Kulula.com and Comair have had very few problems with pilferage for years because they have the systems, the supervision and the accountability."

The baggage reconciliation system is being upgraded, he added. The existing passive bar-coded system may be enhanced by introducing RFID "to actively track where a bag is real-time every step of the way. We will know the moment there is a problem, where the problem is, what the problem is and where to divert bags to, if necessary."

Blame game

Maseko was speaking at a media event to introduce two new ground handling companies to the public. BidAir Services and Menzies International are replacing Equity Aviation Services and Swissport at six ACSA airports from a minute after midnight on Saturday morning.

To further curtail the pilfering that has plagued passengers, BidAir and Menzies are bound by a tight service level agreement and licence conditions that require stringent background checks on staff, as well as a ban on the use of temporary employees and labour brokers.

The ACSA operations director is also keen to see an end to the blame game that has surrounded the issue. "We would like to move into an environment of improved cooperation rather than people absolving themselves of responsibility."

"It is possible to track a bag from the time you check it in up to when it is loaded into the aircraft. It is possible to know if a certain bag has not made it to the aircraft. It is possible to find it. That is the level of cooperation we would like to see," Maseko said in the presence of BidAir and Menzies officials. "We are taking collective responsibility for your luggage."

BidAir is investing R220 million and Menzies R150 million in their new business.

E-ticketing

Maseko says ACSA is also working closely with the airline industry to go "paperless" on 1 June. "We are working hard with the airlines on this initiative; we want to embrace this new technology."

He added that ACSA was keen to adopt not only e-ticketing but also other approaches that will "make travelling more hassle-free".

This includes greater use of the Internet to check-in: provided it can be done in a safe and secure way.