Security

CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT READY FOR  WORLD CUP 

Airports Company
South Africa

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) activated its full- scale emergency exercise at 11h30 on Thursday this week (February 25).

The exercise code named Operation Blue Crane, simulated a Blue Crane Airlines crash on landing with a Boeing 777 aircraft, carrying 215 passengers and eight crew on board. In total, there were approximately 500 participants including volunteers who ‘acted’ as passengers and observers.

The exercise provided the various agencies with the opportunity to test all elements of their emergency response plans including capabilities of emergency equipment, personnel, and communication systems.

“Key to the exercise was the opportunity to identify and proactively correct problems in airport emergency planning, hence the intended outcome was hopefully to reveal any inherent weaknesses in our procedures,” said Deidre Hendricks, Communications Manager, ACSA: CTIA.

By 3pm the exercise, which included participation from agencies such as the South African National Defence Force, the South African Police Services, Disaster Management and Emergency Medical Response, was concluded. “It appears that responding agencies were conversant with emergency plan procedures and dealt with the situation effectively,” said Wilfred Solomons-Johannes from the City’s Disaster Risk Management Centre.

The exercise, which is held every second year, is mandated by South African Aviation legislation as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). “This was a full-scale exercise designed to thoroughly test emergency procedures and responses and included all the participants which would be called upon in the event of a major aircraft incident at the airport,,” added Hendricks.

ACSA, together with the various emergency response roleplayers had done extensive planning in preparation for the exercise. “Emergency response preparedness is an important aspect of our work at the airport. Because it requires co-operation between various roleplayers, it is critical that we jointly test and rehearse our procedures regularly,” continued Hendricks.

“Upon receipt of the emergency call made by the airport, the responding agencies were dispatched and arrived within minutes of the initial emergency call which included Disaster Risk Management Centre, Fire and Rescue Services, Traffic Services, Law Enforcement, Emergency Medical Services and other specialised units.

“The City deployed 30 fire vehicles from 12 fire stations to Cape Town International Airport to support and assist with fire-fighting and rescue efforts. Law-enforcement officers were also deployed to assist with crowd control and to do point-duties at intersections to ensure free flow of traffic.

Normal airport operations were not affected during the emergency exercise.

* Photo, courtesy Bruce Sutherland: 
The City deployed 30 fire vehicles from 12 fire stations to Cape Town International Airport to support and assist with fire-fighting and rescue efforts

CAPE TOWN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TESTS EMERGENCY READINESS

Deidre Hendricks

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) is activating a full-scale emergency exercise today (Thursday, February 25).

 The exercise, which is held every second year, is mandated by South African Aviation legislation as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This is a full-scale exercise designed to thoroughly test emergency procedures and responses and includes all the participants which would be called upon in the event of a major aircraft incident at the airport.

Agencies such as disaster management, the South African Police service, the Metro among others, will respond. The airport’s fire and rescue simulator will be used. Members of the public, including visitors to the airport and motorists on the N2 may notice some smoke and will certainly be able to see emergency vehicles moving to the scene. This is a normal part of any such emergency exercise.

The public is requested not to come to the airport as all the activity will take place in the restricted area on the airside of the airport and no unauthorised person will be granted access.

Normal airport operations will not be affected.

SECURITY A TOP PRIORITY

Katja Hamilton

The City of Cape Town is confident in its ability to secure the city during the 2010 FIFA World CupTM. Its promise to secure Cape Town’s skies, stadiums, highways, streets and tourist destinations during the 2010 FIFA World Cup is well under way. According to a detailed security plan, the City of Cape Town has already procured an additional:

. Seven fire engines
. Seven law-enforcement vehicles
. Seven traffic motorcycles
. 124 fire fighters
. 35 traffic offers
. 21 disaster-management officers
. 180 law-enforcement officers

Louw Visagie, responsible for co-ordinating and integrating the safety and security plan, said the City backed SAPS 100% and that the necessary support structures are in place through public-service workstreams, such as law enforcement, disaster management, fire rescue services, CCTV cameras and the 107 call centre.

The teams have already started undergoing trial runs for the 2010 World Cup at high-profile City events.

Securing the main road and the fan walkways on match days is a high priority, said Visagie who added that there will be a high presence of security patrol vehicles and that dedicated law-enforcement officers, metro police and private security officers would be highly visible in and around the fan walkways.

The City is confident in the rollout of the City’s disaster management plan, which would prepare Cape Town for any eventuality.

Part of the plan is the upgrade of the Disaster Management Centre in Goodwood.

While SAPS is mainly responsible for the rollout of the security profile for 2010, the City acknowledges the role of stakeholders such as the city improvement districts (CIDs) and private security companies for their vision to secure visitors at the World Cup. The City will work with  CIDs and additional cameras will be erected around the Grand Parade.

Additionally, R10m has been budgeted for private security. There will also be road closures in the CBD during the tournament, managed by the traffic department on match days.

The official FIFA 2010 World Cup Fan Park will have additional private security and access-controlled entrances.

Visagie said the City had an impressive track record of hosting such top-class international events such as:
. World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002;
. Non-Aligned Movement summit in 1998;
. Rugby World Cup in 1995;
. African Cup of Nations in 1996;
. All Africa Games in 1999;
. Cricket World Cup in 2003

For the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which was attended by about 37 000 international delegates, South Africa pioneered a security model that has been acknowledged as a global benchmark, and has since been adopted by the United Nations as its model for large events.

South Africa also contributed to the security plan for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, with SAPS being asked to help train police in the Caribbean.

To ensure the success of the World Cup, the City wants people to have fun and to have the peace of mind of knowing that their safety is being taken care of.

BIG BROTHER IS MAKING OUR CITY SAFERKatja Hamilton

The City of Cape Town is watching your back during 2010, says Chris Moller head of the metropolitan surveillance unit: “No matter whether you’re walking on the fan mile or on the stadium precinct during 2010 – we’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

Moller was speaking of his plans to have additional CCTV (close circuit television) surveillance cameras installed in the CBD and in Green Point by the time the Fifa 2010 World CupTM rolls in.

This will bring the total number of CCTV cameras installed along the Atlantic Seaboard strip to 280.

The City has budgeted for another R10 million for an additional 27 CCTV cameras to be installed.

The cameras, which are estimated to be operational by January next year, will be located at key areas in the stadium precinct such as the temporary transport hub that will be located at Hertzog Boulevard in the CBD for the duration of the tournament, at Fifa’s official fan park at the Grand Parade and along the fan walk, which will extend from the parade to the stadium itself.

An additional 18 staff will be appointed to overview the footage from Cape Town’s control room. This excludes the radio control room’s call for additional staff to improve response times to emergencies.

Moller said his forecast for the Atlantic Seaboard model could stand to have the same positive return on investment as the framework adopted by the City when it installed an initial 12 CCTV cameras in the CBD in 1999. There are 84 cameras in the heart of the city and crime statistics have dropped significantly, according to Moller.

“Today people feel free to take a stroll through the Company Gardens and Adderley Street at night and on weekends – which was unheard of a decade ago,” says Moller.

“Capetonians have reclaimed their right to enjoy their city after business hours. We’re seeing that things have changed and that people have started coming back.”

But the benefits of the CCTV cameras don’t just end there. They have also been successfully used for the management of traffic along Vanguard drive, for example, and monitoring of service delivery.

“Whether there’s a pothole in the road or government property that has been vandalised, we often spot it before the authorities do and can alert them to urgent municipal matters,” said Moller.

Moller said he was excited about the initiative and that the installation of the CCTV cameras on the Atlantic Seaboard was the City’s firm commitment to taking a stand against crime in this country.

“We have managed to create a safer haven for Capetonians, and criminals know that they can’t just do crime and think they’re going to get away with it. They know they’re being watched.”