A SECURITY firm hired by airline companies at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) said new measures introduced this month enabled it to catch two baggage handlers stealing from a passenger’s luggage and identify a “nighttime” modus operandi behind many thefts.
Aviation Operations and Management Specialists Inc. (Avomsi) handles safety and security operations for eight airlines operating at Naia.
According to Avomsi security, safety and operations manager Librado Matibag, achieving a zero-pilferage rate was just a matter of documenting the movement of a damaged passenger baggage from the aircraft using mobile phone cameras.
In an interview on Tuesday, Matibag said one airline, which earlier reported pilferage almost every day, is no longer encountering the problem since the new system took effect.
Cargo handlers working for individual airlines are usually prohibited from carrying any gadget into the baggage buildup or breakdown area and are made to wear full-body suits without pockets. But Matibag observed that these measures had not served as enough deterrent.
Matibag said Avomsi personnel posted at the check-in counter, the baggage buildup or breakdown area, and at the ramp area now use mobile phone cameras to “document” pieces of luggage that may have been damaged at the port of origin, while in transit, or during unloading from the aircraft.
Any bag showing any change in appearance is removed from the breakdown conveyor by Avomsi personnel, who will take note of the tag number and take photos of the damaged item. The specialist would then reload the damaged bag on the conveyor and escort it up the arrival area for proper endorsement to the airline’s lost-and-found officer.
Matibag said Avomsi also plans to issue its own security passes to prevent cargo loaders from “moonlighting” with other airlines at the Naia baggage breakdown or buildup area, to further reduce the risk of pilferage.
He was referring to the practice of some cargo loaders who “volunteer” their services for other airlines. “This usually happens at night,” he said, adding that this modus operandi had almost made it impossible to identify pilferers.
Earlier this month, two security specialists, Philip Jayson Stacy and Ronel Bernardo, caught two cargo loaders who allegedly connived to steal a high-end mobile phone and a wallet containing cash in foreign currencies equivalent to P10,000 from the luggage of a Filipino passenger who arrived from China.
The two cargo loaders have since been fired, while the phone and cash were returned to the passenger. No criminal complaints, however, were filed against them, the Inquirer learned.