FNA Stakeholders Workshop on Airport Byelaws paved the way for robust enforcement of safety & Security Standards.
The Sierra Leone Airports Authority has organized a one day workshop to review its draft byelaws and promote its viability amongst Airport Users. The program was held at the SLCAA Auditorium.
Stakeholders from different agencies namely ,the Sierra Leone Police, West Minster Aviation Security Services, Immigration Services, Customs, Operating Airlines, Airline profiling services, and other operators participated in the Workshop. In order to favor feedback and interactions, the Freetown International Airport draft byelaws was shared with the participants as well as some guiding questions to be brainstormed and reflected beforehand.
In his statement of purpose of the vital bye law workshop, the Acting Deputy General Manager, Mr Lawrence B. Conteh, expressed SLAA’s commitment to the byelaw as an aviation compliance mechanism. He maintained that these are tools needed to accelerate deterrence of both civil and criminal offences at its facility. “The Airport byelaws is a requirement from the Civil Aviation Authority that speaks to not only the acts which are prohibited at the Freetown International Airport but the sanctions and penalties . Its effective use will greatly increase prosecutions and deepen our resolve of a safe and secured travelling environment”, Mr Lawrence Conteh added.
Mr Kugbei Tucker, Director of Aviation Security at the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority addressed the following contents of the byelaws; its legal framework, prosecution orders, monitoring of proceedings and implementation of court orders. He raised several guiding questions and feedbacks mostly gathered from his length of experience in Aviation Security and Facilitation thus allowing interactions with the audience. “We are convinced that the scope and applicability of the Airport byelaws targets every critical area in airport operations . It will become a strong force in curbing various types of offences from either our workforce or the travelling public”
The Acting General Manager of the Sierra Leone Airports Authority, Mr. Bobson Kargbo, appreciated the quality of work accomplished by the Airports technical team while insisting that the byelaws, once validated, belong to all stakeholders. He stressed that the Airport is continuously bringing out the relevance and composition of key documentations for its use and that of all stakeholders. “My admonition to all stakeholders is to be knowledgeable in all areas of airport operations and to stand ready to support the airport in times of prosecuting cases of civil and criminal offences ultimately helping us weed out any unworthy personnel across the various agencies at the Airport”.
Through group settings,participants were able to discuss each priority area of the Byelaws ranging from landside, Airside and Aircraft. They held in-depth discussions in determining other areas of relevance. The highlight of the workshop was the presentation of the draft Freetown International Airport bye laws inclusive of the incorporated comments and verifications.
In the closing session, Miss Mallay Betty Braima, SLAA PRM thanked the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority for its growing regulatory roles and the participants high spirited discussions. Special mentions went to the SLAA Board for their intrinsic support for the development of the Airport. She reiterated that the doors of SLAA are always open to stakeholders for collaboration and technical support.
The workshop was attended by more than 20 participants representing stakeholders from the whole Airport value-chain of services.
