Politicians seek to relax airport security

       Thai politicians are pressuring Suvarnabhumi Airport's security staff to drop some pre-boarding screening procedures, even though this would breach global aviation security standards.
       The move to lift the requirement for passengers to put their jackets and belts through X-ray machines before they walk through metal detectors is being spearheaded by Pichet Panwichartkul, a Democrat MP.
       Mr Pichet has called the procedures an inconvenience for passengers and he is attempting to use his position as an adviser to the House standing committee on banking and finance to ease airport security, which has left security and airline managers dumbfounded.
       Industry sources said the committee recently summoned airport security chiefs to issue an ultimatum for the procedure to be waived from last Wednesday. The committee threatened to take further steps to enforce its demand if this order was ignored.
       In a broadside at Suvarnabhumi management published in the Aug 19 edition of Naew Na newspaper, Mr Pichet questioned Suvarnabhumi security's inability to distinguish between suspicious belts and normal ones.
       The former finance minister asked why passengers have to take off their belts at the checkpoint and then clumsily put them back on in public.
       "How is it possible that a female foreign passenger must remove her jacket to reveal her light clothing underneath to go through the screening?" he asked.
       The management of Suvarnabhumi and its airport security have "acknowledged" Mr Pichet's wish but so far have continued with the pre-boarding screening procedures.
       Aviation operators have pointed out that the screening procedures Mr Pichet wants to axe are enforced by most airports around the world and are in direct compliance with those enforced by the United States Transport Security Administration (TSA) as a counter-terrorism precaution.
       "Mr Pichet's wish to ease the screening procedure, if heeded, is very dangerous in exposing Suvarnabhumi and all airlines which operate through it to security risks," said one airline executive.
       He described Mr Pichet's request as reflecting a lack of understanding of the objectives of aviation security, which are to protect aircraft, passengers and crew, as well as to support national security and prevent terrorism.
       Putting jackets and belts into X-ray machines enables airport security personnel to detect weapons or contraband goods like narcotics.
       "There have been four or five recent cases when Suvarnabhumi security discovered belts with small knives inserted inside. That could not be detected by the naked eye," said an airport source.
       Relaxing screening procedures simply to reduce inconvenience for passengers would result in Suvarnabhumi being downgraded in its global security rating, said sources in the aviation industry. "Air travellers will not feel safe passing through Suvarnabhumi and airlines, especially US carriers, will have to review security risks when operating through this airport," said an aviation executive.
       If these procedures were waived, most airlines would have to conduct their own screening at the gates, increasing inconvenience and cost and wasting passengers' time.