Airports "Vulnerable" To Terror Attacks
The UK's airports are still at risk from terror attacks, according to a leading security consultant.
Speaking nearly 12 months after the terror attack on Glasgow Airport in Scotland, Chris Yates said that although airport security has been significantly strengthened since there are still "weak points" which need to be addressed.
In a rallying call for airports to bolster their security further, Yates said airports have a lot of work to do before they are fully secure.
On 30 June last year two men drove a Jeep into Glasgow's main terminal building and set it alight. An Iraqi doctor, Bilal Abdullah, was arrested and charged with conspiracy to cause explosions. Another man, Kafeel Ahmed, died last August from injuries sustained during the fire.
Airport Terminal Security
Yates said the unexpected nature of the Glasgow airport terror attack showed efforts must be made to identify potential weak points in airport terminal security.
He said: "Quite frankly in this day and age we don't know which direction the threats are coming from".
Warning that airports are still vulnerable to terror attacks, and that it was "entirely possible" another attack could occur, Yates continued: "Terrorist groups look for the weakest links in the chain - always. Evidently the strike at Glasgow Airport was a significant weak point for airports and there are very many others".
Blast protection, including bombproof glass, has since been fitted at Glasgow.
Terrorist Attack Prevention
Yates went on to say that in his opinion, the threat of aviation terrorism was not being taken "seriously enough".
He said: "We have a long way to go before airports here in the UK are secure enough to prevent the prospect of another terrorist attack".
Yates said terrorist attack prevention should be a key priority for airports, and that they must do all they can to remove any "weak links" in their security.
Source - Airport International's Aviation Correspondent
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