The X-ray and baggage scanner at the Takoradi airport in the Western region has broken down forcing security officials to scan bags with their eyes and bare hands.

The development is causing fear and panic among air passengers who ply the route.

“The situation is such that a passenger who wants to harm us on the plane could simply hide a sophisticated weapon or even a bomb which cannot be detected easily by the eye and release it in the air,” a worried passenger lamented to .StarrFMonline.com.

A visit by StarrFMonline.com to the airport saw the faulty baggage scanner packed at a corner of the holding room near the check-in area. A security official revealed that the scanner has been out of use for some time now.

The development comes on the back of terrorism attacks in the West African sub-region.

Ghana’s national Security Council has placed the country on terror alert following a recent attack on Ivory Coast. A recently leaked security alert statement confirmed that terrorists have earmarked Ghana for an attack to defuse the impression that only francophone countries are susceptible to terror attacks.

Several calls from StarrFMonline.com to the authorities of the Ghana civil aviation to respond to the issue proved futile.