The recent discovery of a deceased stowaway on KLM flight from Lagos to Amsterdam highlights the need for improved security in Nigerian airports, writes FUNMI FABUNMI

The discovery of a deceased stowaway in the wheel well of a KLM flight from Lagos to Amsterdam last week has again brought to the fore the need for managers of the country’s airports to improve security measures and ensure thorough inspections of aircraft before departure.

The recent incident highlights the loose ends in airports’ security that airlines and aviation authorities to review and tighten. It was also a pointer that airport security protocols need to be updated regularly to ensure the safety of passengers and crew onboard.

Aviation authorities should tie every loose end and ensure that stowaways find it extremely difficult to beat security guards and airport officials.

A stowaway is a person who hides aboard a ship, aeroplane, or other vehicle in order to make a journey secretly or without paying.

Stowaways in wheel wells of aircraft face extreme temperatures that can drop to as low as minus 50 degrees during longer flights, leading to unconsciousness and hypothermia. Despite the risks of death, some stowaways still attempt to use this method to travel without proper documentation, seeking a better life or escaping difficult situations in their home countries.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority disclosed that it has commenced a probe into the recent dead stowaway found in the wheel well of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777 (registered PH-BQM) on April 17. The probe is to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. It is hoped that the findings of the probe would help the aviation authority forestall a future occurrence.

The discovery of the yet-to-be-identified stowaway has raised questions about how and when the man was able to climb into the aircraft, which originated from Lagos undiscovered.

The General Manager of the Public Relations Department, NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, when asked about the incident said, “On our part, we will continue to strengthen our oversight over the service providers with a view to put an end to issues like these. All incidences are investigated. The outcome will determine the next line of action.”

Also, the Acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Faithful Hope-Ivbaze, who spoke with our correspondent in a telephone interview said, “I cannot speak on this subject now because the investigation is ongoing.”

Past incidences

In April 2021, the body of a man was found underneath a plane which left Lagos and landed at Amsterdam Airport. The man, thought to be a stowaway, was discovered inside a wheel arch at Schiphol airport.

Dutch authorities stated that they had launched an investigation into the man’s identity and the cause of death.

A spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee said, “The man had holed up in the wheel arch of the plane. The low temperatures have presumably been fatal to him during the flight. If they survive the extremely dangerous journey they can then try and claim asylum.”

In similar cases, a boy, 16, from Kenya hid in the landing gear of a plane flying to Maastricht Aachen airport from London, in February 2021. He survived but was hospitalised with severe hypothermia.

Also, a mystery man fell from the sky in south London and his dead body was found in Clapham Garden. He had been hiding in the landing gear of a Kenya Airways flight to Heathrow.

In October 2020, four people stowed away on the rudder of an oil tanker from Lagos, hiding for 10 days before they were discovered by police as the vessel came into Las Palmas.

In 2019, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria officials identified a man found climbing an Azman aircraft, who was arrested and handed over to the police for interrogation.

According to the UN Refugee Agency guidelines, “Stowaway asylum-seekers must be protected against forcible return to their country of origin” as they are in a “particularly vulnerable situation in need of international protection and durable solutions.”

Despite the risks, stowaways still attempt to use this method to travel without proper documentation or authorization.

Experts’ comments

Speaking with The PUNCH, the MD of Selective Securities International Limited, Mr Ayo Obilana, raised questions that would help aviation authorities to get to the root of stowaways gaining access to airplanes.

He said, “There is a need for thorough investigation regarding the incident, particularly on one, how the ‘extra passenger’ managed to sneak into his death.”

According to him, the age, gender and other vital information about the deceased passenger must be dug out.

He also said investigators should find out who discovered the body of the dead stowaway.

“A video clip of CCTV of the area on the night/day of departure would help. Forestalling a future occurrence would be very important,” he stated.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Centurion Aviation Ltd., John Ojikutu, asked if the dead body was that of a passenger or a stowaway.

He said, “If it was a passenger, the airline be held responsible. If it was a stowaway, then the airport security operatives or authority at the operating/security-restricted area must be held responsible. If it was a stowaway, he must have been an airport/airline staff or former staff who had worked closely with aircraft or must have been a mole ‘working’ in the airport, or could have been aided by someone (insiders threat), working in the airport restricted area.

“It tells me that the airport security programmes do not include patrol nor internal surveillance of the flight manoeuvring/grounds areas. MMA is one major airport in the country that is within the urban development area of the four most populated LGAs of Lagos and complicated road networks. We had similar experiences with a boy of about 10 years on KLM from Lagos to Amsterdam and returned to Lagos alive. I received him. There was another (dead) on Egypt Air from Accra to Lagos and another on BA from Lagos to London and to NY but was identified as a Nigerian because of the naira found on his dead body.

According to him, no matter the sophistication of the security equipment in the country’s airports if the operatives and supervising authorities are not skilled or dedicated, the equipment is as good as nothing.

“Not many of our airports have security fences. They are more of perimeter fences, which are not security enhanced nor do they comply with the National Civil Aviation Security Programme. You wonder how they get certified by the NCAA and sometimes by ICAO. We have had so many incursions at MMA and other airports, including Kaduna, Maiduguri, Calabar, etc. What has been the outcome of the investigations if ever there was any?” he asserted.

Ojikutu further challenged the efficiency of airline securities at Nigerian airports. He said, “There are about six identifiable aviation security manned/defence layers outside the National Intelligence: 1. Airline Pre-Passenger Screening: 2. Counter-Checking Screening: 3. Airport Access Control: 4. Airport Checkpoint Screening: 5. Airline Passengers Secondary Screening for Boarding and 6. On-Board Screening.

“There is, of course, the airport security fence, where the airport perimeter fence is not enhanced to secure the airport operational areas. If anyone of these is neglected, not manned or compromised by unskilled or incompetent or corruptible staff, the airport is open to any form of threats internal or external. What is necessary is having regular checks, inspections and periodic audits from the oversight and regulations enforcement authorities internal and external.”

He wondered if the country has adequate security operatives and inspectors required to secure the airports.

“The NCAA should be the one to answer that from its annual audits on the operators, airports, airlines and the allied services.”

To Ojikutu, any stowaway is an insider threat or assisted by a mole is an insider threat.