Attend to your luggage at airports

Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Following the evacuation at OR Tambo International Airport, police have appealed to travellers not to leave any luggage unattended.

“Members of the public and or passengers are advised not to leave bags unattended as it poses a potential security risk,” said SAPS spokesperson Katlego Mogale.

On Monday, hundreds panicked at the terminal building as security personnel evacuated them following a discovery of an unattended bag.

The SAPS K9 and airport security K9 were called to the scene to remove the bag.

“The dogs were deployed to ascertain whether there were explosives in the bag but the dogs reacted negatively. The bag was then opened under controlled detonation by the SAPS explosives unit,” said Mogale.

An investigation is underway to determine where it came from as well as its contents.

A few hours ago operations at the airport returned to normal.

Mogale said there was high police visibility in and around the airport as per an integrated multidisciplinary plan that has implemented.

The primary objective of multidisciplinary simulation exercises, led by Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (JOINTS) was to allow the security forces to hone their skills in preparation for any eventuality.

The exercises took place in Midrand and Kempton Park on Monday.

Mogale said a decision was taken by NATJOINTS to conduct exercises in various provinces in order to ensure that all role players from different disciplines can work together in a coordinated manner.

“This will ensure that, as a collective, we are in a position to effectively deal with any situation, whether it be proactively or reactively. It is also intended to test the very important concepts of command, control, coordination, communication and intelligence-sharing among role players from different environments.” - SAnews.gov.za