Security to be tightened at Beirut airport
Lebanon, Local, 8/18/1997

The president of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Assad Kotaite, arrived in Lebanon on August 17 with a one million US dollar plan to restructure security at Beirut airport to satisfy complaints by the US Federal Aviation Authority.

"The project proposes new measures that will strengthen and support civil aviation safety," he said on arrival in Beirut from the ICAO's headquarters in Montreal.

He added that the proposal was based on a study carried out earlier this year by a delegation of specialists from the organisation.

"Lebanon has an excellent safety record, and no unfortunate accidents have occurred. But there is always room for improvement," he said.

Kotaite sent the delegation's report to Transport Minister Omar Miskawi last May, along with a letter to civil aviation director general Riad Abdullah outlining several improvements to the draft legislation for reorganizing security at the airport.

Several suggestions have been adopted to supplement the ministerial draft legislation, including the creation of a Higher Committee for Civil Aviation and a separate security body streamlining the Airport Security Agency, state security and internal security forces under one command.

However a number of other suggestions, including clearer lines of responsibility, did not get past the report stage.

Kotaite said that during his two-week visit to Lebanon, he plans to clarify some points of the report, in the hope that they will find their way into the draft legislation.

"During my visit, I will take the opportunity to thank the Lebanese government for recognizing the important role air transport and civil aviation has in the country's economic and social development," he said.

Kotaite said that the lifting of the US travel ban last month was welcomed by his organisation, but insisted that it "was a political decision and had little to do with the technical standards at the airport."

Kotaite also announced an international civil aviation safety and security conference to be held in Montreal in November.

"An estimated 135 countries will participate in this conference from which we hope to come out with major decisions that will encourage airline safety. Our aim is to bring down the level of accidents, worldwide, to zero."

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