‘Airport staff unprepared for G20’

Customs staff ... the Transport Workers Union says there should be more training for staff ahead of the G20 meeting in Brisbane. Source: News Limited

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FRONTLINE staff at Australia's airports are unprepared for the heightened security risks posed by November's G20 Summit, the sector's peak union says.

Only airport security guards will receive additional training for the summit, despite the likelihood of violent protests when Vladimir Putin arrives in Brisbane.

Other staff including baggage handlers, customer service officers and retail workers will be left to rely on their own instincts in the event of an incident associated with the meeting of world leaders.

Around 7000 delegates and international media are due to arrive in Brisbane in the lead-up to the November 15-16 summit, including the widely despised Russian president.

Security services ... need for training across the board, says the union. Picture: Cameron L'estrange Source: News Limited

Controversial ... protests are likely to greet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Picture: AP Photo/RIA-Novosti / Alexei Druzhinin Source: AP

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Although most world leaders will be taken through the privately operated Hawker Pacific site, at least three heads of government are expected to arrive directly at Brisbane International Airport.

Industry sources said the G20 Taskforce was due to begin training airport security staff in "dignitary protocols" in coming weeks.

But they confirmed other workers would have to rely on "common sense and survival instincts" in the event of violent protests or more sinister incidents.

All airline employees undergo basic security and awareness training to meet Civil Aviation Safety Authority standards.

However Transport Workers Union national secretary Tony Sheldon said it was of grave concern that no extra training was being provided to airport workers before the biggest peacetime security operation in Australia's history.

"There's a failure to train aviation workers in the very minimalist areas of how to deal with potential terrorist attacks, and other aspects of airport security," Mr Sheldon said.

Safety warning ... Tony Sheldon, National Secretary of the Transport Workers Union. Source: News Corp Australia

A Brisbane Airport Corporation spokeswoman said staff training was a matter for the airlines.

Only last month, a woman managed to drive her sedan through the perimeter fence of Brisbane's domestic airport and within 400m of the main runway.

Aircraft operations were halted for 90 minutes following the security breach.

The AFP has charged a 37-year-old woman for endangering the safety of Brisbane Airport and taking a vehicle airside of a security controlled airport.

She will face court later this month.

The BAC will complete an upgrade of its fencing before the G20, to the highest world standards.

Mr Sheldon said the lack of training extended to the current Ebola scare triggered by the deaths of airline passengers in Nigeria and the UK.

"There is a failure to actually train aviation workers to be on the lookout for potential risks of Ebola," he said.

The Federal Department of Health confirmed yesterday that thermal imaging scanners rolled out during the Swine flu pandemic of 2009 would not be used to screen arrivals from West Africa.

"Evidence from the 2009 pandemic demonstrated (the scanners) lack of effectiveness," said a department spokeswoman.

"In 2009, 625,147 passengers were scanned, 5845 triaged for further assessment and three cases of (Swine flu) were detected."

Fever is one of the first symptoms of Ebola which is spread through contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons.

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