Australian Airports Vulnerable to Attack

31 October 2010 (Last Updated October 31st, 2010 18:30)

Existing security must be improved in and around Australian airport terminals because they are susceptible to potential attacks, according to Homeland Security Asia Pacific chief Roger Henning. Security at Adelaide Airport was breached when a man rammed his car into the terminal, while

Existing security must be improved in and around Australian airport terminals because they are susceptible to potential attacks, according to Homeland Security Asia Pacific chief Roger Henning.

Security at Adelaide Airport was breached when a man rammed his car into the terminal, while in Melbourne Airport a tourist scaled a fence and walked across the tarmac.

Although security has improved, problems still persist concerning casual workers, manually monitored CCTVs and a lack of standardised training.

Australian airports handle freight goods worth A$22bn ($21.5bn) a year, but they lack comprehensive ground-monitoring measures.

Henning said that airports contributed 3% of state and territory GDP and any shutdown of Sydney Airport, for example, could cost about A$1bn ($978.5m) a week, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.