The Press THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1975. Airport security

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33963, 2 October 1975, Page 14

The Press THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1975. Airport security

The conflicts and tensions which provoke people into acts of air piracy or hijacking are not part of the experience of most New Zealanders. But cranks, and terrorists attempting to impose their will on governments, have taken advantage of lax security arrangements wherever they are found. The possibility that New Zealand will be chosen one day for such activities is not so remote that New Zealanders can afford to be complacent about security at the country’s airports, and especially at the three international airports. The need to mount special guards on the Japanese Embassy in Wellington in recent weeks is a telling demonstration that New Zealand cannot continue to assume that piracy or terrorism directed against other Governments will never happen here. The introduction of strict security measures in airports overseas a few years ago did much to check an epidemic of hijackings. Most international air travellers now accept as a matter of course their being searched, generally by electronic devices, and the presence of security officers in airports. The inconvenience to passengers is small, and it is a price most pay willingly for greater assurance of a safe flight Legislation creating a unified security service for New Zealand’s three international airports and, presumably, providing for the expenditure of public funds to achieve a satisfactory level of security will not come before Parliament this year In the meantime, the Government is pressing ahead, working in co-operation with airport authorities, to establish airport security services. Immediate action is necessary to satisfy demands from other countries, notably the United States, that security for international flights be improved. Any steps the Government may take before legislation has been passed will accord with the wishes of almost all New Zealanders. Possible irregularities in the procedure of setting up adequate airport security services should not be ysed as an excuse for opposition to what the Government does to lessen the chances of untoward incidents occurring in, or originating in, New Zealand’s airports.