SA airports 'sitting ducks'

G20 THREAT: EXPLOSIVES EXPERT WARNS OF SA'S 'NON-COMPLIANCE WITH UN STANDARDS'

- Hein Kaiser

HARD WORK. An Airports Company South Africa employee pushes trolleys at OR Tambo International Airport, where questions have been asked about passenger and staff safety in the event of a bomb blast. DANGER. Jimmy Roodt at an airport assembly point. WELCOME. The Oliver Tambo statue welcomes visitors to OR Tambo International Airport. GREAT VIEW. Passenger jets prepare to take off from the main runway at OR Tambo International Airport in Joburg.

(Picture: Hein Kaiser Picture: EPA)

South Africa's major international airports could be dangerously underprepared for a bomb threat ahead of next month's G20 Summit.

This is according to explosives expert Jimmy Roodt, operations director and explosives manager at Gauntlet Security Solutions, who said he believed OR Tambo International, Cape Town International and King Shaka International airports are not bomb-safety compliant.

Roodt said the three gateways are in direct violation of international aviation security standards.

A threat, he said, was one thing. But as it stands, if a threat was realised, an actual attack could leave facility users dangerously exposed. "These findings are not theoretical," he said.

"They are evidence-based, supported by onsite observation and benchmarking against the UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and other global directives."

He added that emergency drills are pointless if the process is all wrong in the first place.

"While there are visible evacuation plans, these are based on fire protocols," he said.

This is because, according to Roodt, South Africa has no legal framework that deals with explosive-specific measures.

"Fire standards send people outside. Bomb standards often require people to stay inside. Using the same rules for both is reckless," he said.