ACSA TERMINATES SCREENING COMPANY’S SERVICES
The contract of Aviation Coordination Services (ACS), the third-party operator responsible for the screening of hold baggage at OR Tambo International Airport, has been terminated.
This was announced by Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) after it came to light that a passenger who was carrying two training hand grenades in their checked baggage managed to get through.
The hand grenades were only discovered upon their arrival at Bole International Airport in Ethiopia.
In a statement, ACSA said that it “was formally notified of the incident by Ethiopian Airlines, in line with international aviation protocols, after the items were detected during reverse baggage screening upon arrival”.
After investigating, it was confirmed that the breach took place in the hold baggage screening area managed by ACS.
“ACSA made the decision to terminate ACS's services on the grounds that ACS has no legal basis or contract to carry out hand baggage screening services. Moreover, ACS is operating contrary to public procurement legislation.”
The statement continued: "Notwithstanding these legal issues, ACS is responsible for this lapse in security and has also accepted liability for the incident. Further, ACS instituted disciplinary proceedings against the employee responsible for the security breach.”
In return, ACS has managed to successfully get an interdict against ACSA from implementing the termination pending finalisation of a court review of ACSA’s decision.
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