Security at Narita airport frightening

Press, 14 June 1978, Page 13

Security at Narita airport frightening

Encountering the intense security and tension at Tokyo’s controversial new airport at Narita, was a •‘frightening” experience for a Christchurch businessman who recently passed through the airport. Mr R. H. Hammond said that he was searched thoroughly four times: twice at the Tokyo city depot, and twice at the airport. One of the searches at the depot was a body search, he said. The 80km expressway route from Tokyo to the airport was guarded by 13.000 troops, he said, although they did not become evident

[until the last two or three Kilometres. “Every minute was quite ; tense. We were very glad to get out,” said Mr Hammond. The airport had experienced “all sorts of trouble” from protesters at the control tower, the pipe■ines, and cables. “No matter how many troops they' have there are always pockets i that protesters can slip through,” he said. “You don’t know from minute to minute what is going to happen.” Mr . Hammond said that the troops appeared to be armed. He met armed guards at other airports in Asia, but

there was not the tension that he experienced at Narita. The airport appeared to be “very, very underworked” because a number of airlines were reluctant to use it until the problems had been cleared up. “It is possibly 20 to 25 per cent worked at the moment,” said Mr Hammond. “It is a problem the Japanese have got to solve. They have got a lot of money, about S3OOOM, tied up in it. “I would not want to fly into Narita again until the trouble has been cleared up,” Mr Hammond said.