Seven Months Later: New Airport Security Contracts Signed

It’s been seven months since that shocking midair hijacking of a Tropic Air flight by U.S. national Akinyela Sawa Taylor. Now, the Belize Airport Authority is finally taking action. The board is set to sign new security contracts for municipal airports nationwide, after scrapping almost thirty million dollars in previous deals with two private firms following public backlash. Civil Aviation CEO Narda Garcia told News Five the goal is simple: restore confidence and tighten oversight after the controversy.

 

Narda Garcia, CEO, Ministry of Civil Aviation

“I can tell you that as part of the board, and I am a non-voting member of that board, but I assist to some of the meetings and when I don’t, my alternate is a deputy, the deputy of the civil aviation department is my alternate. So he assists. They have gone through the process. They tendered, they advertised, and they tendered out. And I think the board has arrived at a decision of contracting a company that has all, has filled all the requirements that are, that were put out there. So I think they will make an announcement very soon.”

 

Shane Williams

“We have one company or?”

 

Narda Garcia

“I think it’s one company doing the, the search, the body search and the human security, and then you will have another company doing the camera part.”