Airport Fiasco - Open Invitation To Terrorists

[simon43]

One aspect of the recent airport takeovers - at both Bangkok and Phuket, is the clear signal that it sends to international terrorists. 'Come on in, there is no security here'

Imagine what would happen if several heavily armed terrorists attempted to storm the terminal building. Judging from the previous police/security response to PAD grandmothers/children I imagine that you would not see the police for dust as they run away.

It's not a hypothetical scenario. Look at Mumbai, soft targets and a massacre.

Have there been any announcements about a full review of security at these airports? From my location by Phuket airport I see no changes. It's still possible to access the runway directly from the nearby beach, (I mean walk actually onto the runway because the perimeter fence is not secured).

I find it all very worrying

Simon

[dekka007]

Imagine what would happen if several heavily armed terrorists attempted to storm the terminal building.

Surely the farang police volunteers would spring into action and save the day.

I sleep easier knowing these guys are out there.

[Ricardo]

And within 10 or 15 minutes, of the alarm being raised, the airport fire-services would arrive, to cover the bodies in foam and give reassuring excuses.

[HorseDoctor]

And within 10 or 15 minutes, of the alarm being raised, the airport fire-services would arrive, to cover the bodies in foam and give reassuring excuses.

oops Except all the foam is gone from a training drill 3 days earlier!

btw Phuket Airport is being sued by families of victims of 1-2 Go crash .. Seems the airpot was seriously deficient in several areas;. like not having replenished the foam and water from a training drill and not enough personnel on site.

Hey Simon, has it blocked off the meter wide drainage tunnels leading from the beach directly onto the runway?

( By the way THANKS for being one of "those" volunteer Police types !)

[TJAN]

And within 10 or 15 minutes, of the alarm being raised, the airport fire-services would arrive, to cover the bodies in foam and give reassuring excuses.

oops Except all the foam is gone from a training drill 3 days earlier!

btw Phuket Airport is being sued by families of victims of 1-2 Go crash .. Seems the airpot was seriously deficient in several areas;. like not having replenished the foam and water from a training drill and not enough personnel on site.

Hey Simon, has it blocked off the meter wide drainage tunnels leading from the beach directly onto the runway?

( By the way THANKS for being one of "those" volunteer Police types !)

What a bunch of sarcastic a....h.....s

[Dakhar]

One aspect of the recent airport takeovers - at both Bangkok and Phuket, is the clear signal that it sends to international terrorists. 'Come on in, there is no security here'

Imagine what would happen if several heavily armed terrorists attempted to storm the terminal building. Judging from the previous police/security response to PAD grandmothers/children I imagine that you would not see the police for dust as they run away.

It's not a hypothetical scenario. Look at Mumbai, soft targets and a massacre.

Have there been any announcements about a full review of security at these airports? From my location by Phuket airport I see no changes. It's still possible to access the runway directly from the nearby beach, (I mean walk actually onto the runway because the perimeter fence is not secured).

I find it all very worrying

Simon

If you have the backing of some particular unamed individuals, invasion of an airport or anywhere is easily done.;

[PhilHarries]

If you have the backing of some particular unamed individuals, invasion of an airport or anywhere is easily done.;

Very true, if a large enough group of heavily armed individuals determined enough and willing to die for the cause mount an assault there's very little can be done save to turn the target facility into a hardened secure zone. That option is just not viable for a public facility such as an airport where the object is to allow people (passengers and others) free access.

However having a small force of armed guards, as utilised at most international airports these days, does at least provide a deterrent But it is a good question what exactly these armed guards would do, say at LHR, if they were confronted by say a group of fifteen or so such minded and armed individuals given the volume of potential "collateral damage" victims?

It is something we have to keep in mind, remembering that there is no such thing as a 100% secure location, and just get on with our life.

But to answer the OP. One would hope that these events will trigger, if they haven't already, a complete review of the security of all airports. But this is Thailand and we are most likely just p1ssing in the wind again.

[londonthai]

walk actually onto the runway because the perimeter fence is not secured

well armed terrorists would be not necessary - it can can a cow or some large wild animal walking nightime onto the runway and spending 200-300 lives

[GuestHouse]

Who needs Terrorists. A quick flick through one's copy of Clausewitz 'Vom Kriege' provides a reminder that war is made not on armies but on economies.

[grantbkk]

It is possible but unlikely that international terrorist watched the news in Thailand and made a mental note as to the lack of security at our airports. Killing a bunch of Buddhists in a far away place would not strengthen their causes. They could plan to strike a high value western target within the security perimeter, say United Airlines, which could seem like a good idea to the twisted minded radical Muslims. That too may be unlikely because as everyone knows Thailand is where the terrorists do R & R between atrocities and where they do their planning to kill innocent women and children to move them towards those 14 virgins.

The monthly raids in Soi Africia (Sukhumvit Road and Soi 3/1) do little to eliminate the vacationing terrorists. I do feel sorry for the farm animals they keep in their rooms in the hotels there. Sorry I digress.

Anyway, we should be concerned about security at all Thai airports. As with most other aspects of life, the security here in the Kingdom shows us that we are truly on our own. I am hardly surprised by anything anymore but the storming of Suvarnabhumi by our home grown, low level, PAD terrorist was really a surprise and frightening as well. In developed countries these types of contingencies are planned for. The government knew exactly where these people were headed and what they were going to do but did nothing to try to stop them. Criminal sanctions against the Airports of Thailand, the police and army are called for in this case.

[Boater]

i think we should not turn a serious thread into another joke....

it is the same with samui airport, if you come to arrivals, you can actually drive directly onto the runway.... they only have 2 ' sleeping ' guards watching...

now to a terroist, it would be easy to get a huge amount of exposives into samui, jam pack a pickup with the bombs and drive the pickup direclty onto the runway when a packed plane is either landing or takeing off !!.. and bang !

worrying thought !...

[Mai Krap]

Screw it, if my posts are just going to get deleted I can do that myself.............

Edited December 15, 2008 by Mai Krap

[simon43]

Mai Krap - your comments are (sadly) true

Simon

[misterman21]

One aspect of the recent airport takeovers - at both Bangkok and Phuket, is the clear signal that it sends to international terrorists. 'Come on in, there is no security here'

Imagine what would happen if several heavily armed terrorists attempted to storm the terminal building. Judging from the previous police/security response to PAD grandmothers/children I imagine that you would not see the police for dust as they run away.

It's not a hypothetical scenario. Look at Mumbai, soft targets and a massacre.

Have there been any announcements about a full review of security at these airports? From my location by Phuket airport I see no changes. It's still possible to access the runway directly from the nearby beach, (I mean walk actually onto the runway because the perimeter fence is not secured).

I find it all very worrying

Simon

Dear Simon

Try to stop watching mainsream media programming (sorry programmes) like FOX and BBC and you will feel a lot safer. You are more likely to be hit twice by lightening in the same day than be a victim of terrorism.

Or you may try sleeping with the light on if you are really afraid of the boogey men!

Misterman

PS as a last resort you may find that educating yourself as opposed to accepting media scaremongering may help - sleep tight

Edited December 15, 2008 by misterman21

[Scott]

I have long been concerned about terrorism at airports in Thailand and the PAD takeover only reinforced it. Some years back, I worked in the Middle East and I can assure you that when you mentioned Thailand, they all knew about the suffering of their brethern in the South. Although I had lived in Thailand over 3 years before going there, I knew nothing about the problems in the South--at that time, only an occasional incident.

So, for terrorists, lets think--we have a Buddhist majority (still infidels) suppressing their people; we have airports with around a thousand flights per day, mostly tourists (even if numbers are declining); we have a whole lot of international airlines and carriers; and we have very poor security. 1+1 = ?

I think the only saving grace for Thailand is that so many of them can easily transit the country that they don't want a 'crackdown.'

[simon43]

Misterman21, I have to totally disagree with you. I've lived in LoS for 6 years and have studied the Islamic situation in Thailand at Master's level. I am very well informed about the problems in the southern provinces and how these problems fit into Muslim ideology on a global scale. I'm not scare-mongering but applying realistic thought to the historical situation and recent events.

Better than putting your head in the sand...

Simon

[LooseCannon]

One aspect of the recent airport takeovers - at both Bangkok and Phuket, is the clear signal that it sends to international terrorists. 'Come on in, there is no security here'

Imagine what would happen if several heavily armed terrorists attempted to storm the terminal building. Judging from the previous police/security response to PAD grandmothers/children I imagine that you would not see the police for dust as they run away.

It's not a hypothetical scenario. Look at Mumbai, soft targets and a massacre.

Have there been any announcements about a full review of security at these airports? From my location by Phuket airport I see no changes. It's still possible to access the runway directly from the nearby beach, (I mean walk actually onto the runway because the perimeter fence is not secured).

I find it all very worrying

Simon

So, how do propose to 'secure' Bangkok airport, or for that matter any airport or large buiding anywhere in the world that has thousands of people entering & leaving every hour of the day?

Short of scanning/sniffing every single passenger & visitor for explosives that enter the building, checking every vehicle that enters, protecting a public access building is virtually impossible.

Glasgow Airport June 2007 bring back any memories? Maybe the standard of security at Bangkok airport can be elevated to the same level? Do you honestly think that a dedicated & committed suicide bomber can be stopped with that level of security?

Maybe lock down the whole country with the same level of security that is present in Israel? Do you think that is going to stop a dedicated & committed suicide bomber?

Then there are plenty of much easier targets - the train stations, shopping centres, entertainment areas, hotels, the list is endless.

You are destined to live the rest of your life in fear.

Any security will merely be cosmetic, & only fool such people as yourself.

[simon43]

Of course it is absolutely impossible to 'lock down' an international airport. But it would seem sensible to implement some simple security measures, rather than throwing the door wide open to anyone who wishes to disrupt, maim or murder innocent people.

Bring the security up to western standards. Install cameras along the perimeter fencing, block off all access to airside (such as the storm-drains at Phuket Airport which go under the security fence). Have competent and visibly-armed security/police patrolling at all times, not smoking a cigarette, sleeping or chatting up the women.

Of course, this being Thailand, it will never happen And in the future, I will be flying via KL or Singapore hubs, not Swampy.

Simon

[dotcom]

I was thinking at the time of how much explosives miscreant Muslims could have hidden in secure areas during the seige.

May supplant Beriut as hi-jack capital of the world.

[LooseCannon]

Of course it is absolutely impossible to 'lock down' an international airport. But it would seem sensible to implement some simple security measures, rather than throwing the door wide open to anyone who wishes to disrupt, maim or murder innocent people.

Bring the security up to western standards. Install cameras along the perimeter fencing, block off all access to airside (such as the storm-drains at Phuket Airport which go under the security fence). Have competent and visibly-armed security/police patrolling at all times, not smoking a cigarette, sleeping or chatting up the women.

Of course, this being Thailand, it will never happen And in the future, I will be flying via KL or Singapore hubs, not Swampy.

Simon

So if the Thai authorities brought the security at Bangkok Airport & Phuket Airport to the same level as that of Glasgow Airport (circa June 2007), would this satisfy you?

At this level of security all your criteria for a safe & secure airport will have been met.

Despite these security measures an incident did occur at Glasgow Airport which the local authorities were powerless to stop. By sheer good fortune only one person died (one of the terrorists). This was possibly due to the 'bomb' being a number of propane gas tanks. Replace that gas with something more powerful, a plastic explosive such as semtex or C4, then the destruction would have been quite different.

Here's a scenario for you..... Bangkok Airport ... Phuket Airport ... London Heathrow ... any airport - a taxi pulls up to the main departures concourse at the busiest time of day, suicide bomber exits the taxi with his suitcase, walks a few metres to the entrance & then detonates his bomb. Try to protect yourself against that.

So what are you most fearful of? A terrorist attack on the airport or another PAD occupation/blockade? Two distinctly different & seperate problems which require quite different solutions.

"...I will be flying via KL or Singapore hubs, not Swampy." - make sure that you stay away from Glasgow Airport, Bali, the London Underground, Madrid rail system, NewYork City, Israel, Moscow, Sydney Hilton Hotel, Italian railway stations & the list goes on & on.

If you do decide to drive to KL, be very, very careful when you go through Yala province.

[Dakhar]

If you have the backing of some particular unamed individuals, invasion of an airport or anywhere is easily done.;

Very true, if a large enough group of heavily armed individuals determined enough and willing to die for the cause mount an assault there's very little can be done save to turn the target facility into a hardened secure zone. That option is just not viable for a public facility such as an airport where the object is to allow people (passengers and others) free access.

However having a small force of armed guards, as utilised at most international airports these days, does at least provide a deterrent But it is a good question what exactly these armed guards would do, say at LHR, if they were confronted by say a group of fifteen or so such minded and armed individuals given the volume of potential "collateral damage" victims?

It is something we have to keep in mind, remembering that there is no such thing as a 100% secure location, and just get on with our life.

But to answer the OP. One would hope that these events will trigger, if they haven't already, a complete review of the security of all airports. But this is Thailand and we are most likely just p1ssing in the wind again.

The unamed indivduals, don't use guns... just a phone call, made by the right people, seems to do the trick in Thailand.

[simon43]

The issue of improving security at the airports is not just for my individual re-assurance. The 'open-door' policy at Thai airports means that many countries will advise their citizens not to visit. Travel insurance policies will not be valid for Thailand, international airlines will not wish to risk their staff, passengers and expensive planes.

Loosecannon - There are a whole load of reasons why security needs to be improved at the airports - you need to look at the bigger picture.

Simon