HCM City (VNA) - Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh has urged Tan Son Nhat internationalairport in HCM City to step up efforts to tackle airport overload, cyber-attacksand laser beam incidents to ensure the security of the southern region’sbusiest airport.

Binh,who is also Chairman of the Civil Aviation Security Committee, made the requestduring a visit last week to inspect the airport’s security measures.  

Thedeputy PM urged the airport authority to regularly check runways, ensure ITnetwork security and prevent smuggling of illegal goods via the airport.

DangTuan Tu, Director of the airport, said that 52 airlines were operating at theairport, including three domestic and 47 international airlines.  

Theairport is facing many challenges, especially an airport overload, he said.

Theairport welcomed more than 26.5 million passengers last year, a rise of 13.52 percentover the year’s plan and an increase of nearly 20 percent compared to 2014, Tu said.

TanSon Nhat airport had by the end of October welcomed nearly 27 millionpassengers, of which international passengers were 9.8 million.

Thefigure is expected to reach 32 million by the end of the year, worsening theoverload of the airport designed to handle only 25 million passengers a year,according to Tu.

Theairport has two runways and 52 aprons (aircraft parking positions), which areinsufficient to serve all landings and take-offs during peak hour, from 5:30amto 7:30am and from 10:30pm to 12:30am.

Tusaid the airport security teams this year had managed to ensure the safety ofall departures and arrivals, including 106 special flights that transport Stateofficials and high-ranking officials of other countries.  

Inaddition, airport security forces discovered 55,716 cases in which passengersbrought prohibited items onboard; 90 cases in which passengers illegallytransported weapons; eight cases in which passengers falsely announced thatbombs were on the aircraft; and 48 cases in which passengers caused publicchaos at the airport.

Allof the cases were managed well and had no serious consequences, according to Tu.   

Airportsecurity forces have also caught four thieves onboard and discovered sevencases in which airport staff were carrying items onboard without declaration,in violation of regulations. 

Theairport authority has also worked with the HCM City Police to raise publicawareness about powerful lasers being used at night for entertainment purposesby local residents, usually young people.

Inrecent months, pilots have complained about incidents in which laser beams weredirected at the cockpits of aircraft as they took off and landed.

Theairport has operated a campaign to raise people’s awareness about aviationsafety and security. It has also organised fire and rescue drills and improvedthe task of keeping birds away from the airport area.

TanSon Nhat airport’s security teams consist of 981 staff operating 65 securityscanners, 67 portable metal detectors, and two explosive detection devices,according to Tu.

Toenhance security, the Tan Son Nhat Airport Authority has recommendedestablishing a police station at the airport, providing more advanced scanningdevices and offering training for its staff, he said.

DeputyPM Truong Hoa Binh praised all the achievements by the airport authority,saying that the local aviation had achieved the highest growth in the world.

Thenational flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has significantly improved its fleetwith an increasing number of state-of-the-art aircraft like the Boeing 787 andAirbus A350.

Inaddition, the civil aviation sector has not had any serious accidents duringthe last 18 years, Binh said.

Binhurged the airport authority to continue to ensure the safety and security ofthe airport with a focus on human resources, including improving the quality ofairport staff and air traffic controllers as well as fighting cyber-attacks atthe airport.

InJuly, a Chinese hacker group carried out several cyber-attacks at Tan Son Nhat andNoi Bai international airports. The hackers also took control of the speakersystems at the airports.

Theairline’s official website was also hacked by another Chinese hacker group atthe same time.-VNA