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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

■ UNITED KINGDOM: Government donates airport security equipment to Angola, Kenya.

The British Government, via its Safe Skies initiative aimed at improving airport security measures in force around the world, has donated security equipment to both Kenya and Angola in a bid to enhance the quality of security screening procedures at both Kenyan and Angolan airports.

Clearing airport security
In Nairobi, the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Dr. Christian Turner handed over the equipment to the Kenya Airports Authority Chairman, Prof. Mutuma Mugambi during an Official Handing Over Ceremony held at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport consisting of Standard Test Pieces for X-Ray machines, Walk- through Metal detectors, Hand Held Metal Detectors and 200 x-ray trays for JKIA and Mombasa Moi International Airports. 

While giving his key note address at the event, Dr. Christian Turner noted that UK will be delivering 2 state of the art ‘Walk Through Metal Detectors’ for the new terminal four coming up at JKIA; further to this Dr. Turner said that his government has Two experts in the country already to deliver mentoring training to KAA security staff at JKIA and Moi International Airport. UK Government donated two Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) machines and consumables to KAA last year and 4 ETD machines the previous year.

In Luanda, the first secretary and aviation safety officer for central, eastern and southern Africa, Vicky Hutchinson, handed over similar security apparatus to the Angolan Airport Management and Air Navigation Company (Empresa Nacional de Exploração de Aeroportos e Navegação Aérea - ENANA).

Commenting on airport security, Ms Hutchinson said government and aeronautical authorities must work to win the battle against terrorism, adding that terrorists do not care about the nationality or social status of the people they want to target.

ENANA CEO, Mr Manuel Ceitas, thanked the British authorities for the gesture and hoped the partnership could continue in order to make Angolan airports some of  the safest on the continent.