Certain categories of persons utilising the VIP lounge at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri will be subjected to checks as the local authorities heighten security there.

An airport security high-level team, chaired by Minister of Home Affairs, Ronald Gajraj, held its third meeting yesterday to consult on security arrangements at the airport, following the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11.

New procedures in the VIP lounge was one of the recommendations of the security team.

Coming out of the terrorist attacks the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had mandated that there would be tougher security measures to deal with passengers and airlines flying into the USA.

On the domestic front, the authorities are considering empowering staff of local airlines as supernumerary constables to boost the security at the hinterland airstrips.

Gajraj pointed out that the security arrangements had been in place before, but Guyana, like some other countries, might have not taken such a serious view of them in the past.

"Because we are engaging international flights we are subject to the directions and the advisories that emanate from the relevant authorities dealing with international flights eg ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation] and the FAA," he told reporters at the airport yesterday.

The Airport Security Committee which looks at the day-to-day security issues advises the airport security team. This committee involves all operatives engaged in services at the airport such as airlines, immigration, customs, ground staff, and fuel and lubricant suppliers.

The problems identified by the committee are reported to the airport security high-level team, which is the body that would establish policy positions.

Gajraj said his team would make available resources, as far as possible, to meet the requirements to ensure the safety of the passengers and cargo utilising the airport.

Included in the security team are representatives from the Guyana Police Force, the Immigration Department, British West Indies Airways, North American Airlines, Amerijet, the Guyana Defence Force, the Civil Aviation Department, the Guyana Fire Service, Laparkan, the special constabulary, fuel suppliers, security services and ground services. Gajraj said though the thrust of their work pertained to international flights, security considerations for domestic flights were also being addressed.

He disclosed that himself and Transport and Hydraulics Minister Anthony Xavier had engaged the Private Aircraft Owners Association and other local operators on two occasions, and measures had been put in place to enhance the current security situation, particularly at interior locations.

"We have locations which are manned by police and locations where the army as well as the police are present," Gajraj said. "We have locations where there are no agents of the airline, but the police are placed there on a permanent basis. But we are going through certain arrangements with the airlines where the staff could be sworn in as probably supernumerary constables."

He stated this would allow the staff to be vested with the authority to carry out searches and arrests if necessary.

Chief Executive Officer of Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation, Leon Romero, said the one of the reasons for the security team meetings was to make the staff at the airport more aware of the need for proper security and the need for the involvement of everyone.

He said the terrorist attacks resulted in many jobs being lost in the airline industry and this could occur in Guyana, too, if airlines chose to stop operating here for some reason or the other.

"It is a difficult time for passengers and it is a difficult time for the airlines and we would like to encourage them to understand that it is for the security for everyone travelling," Romero stated.