K-9 division to help secure 44 airports

NEW MOM Jazz, a bomb-sniffing dog who gave birth to five puppies, poses with her handler at Butuan-Bancasi Airport in Agusan del Norte province. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

THE COUNTRY’S top enforcer of laws governing air transportation plans to put up its own K-9 division to help guard 44 commercial airports nationwide.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), which is responsible for prescribing rules and regulations for all aircraft owned and  operated in the country, will also construct a dog academy at Butuan-Bancasi Airport in Agusan del Norte province.

At the CAAP’s 38th management meeting on April 11 in Butuan City, Director General William Hotchkiss III cited the initiative of Area 12 manager Evangeline Daba in producing a K-9 unit composed of 10 bomb-sniffing and narcotics-detecting dogs.

 ‘Effective’

“Her (Daba’s) development of a K-9 unit is so effective that her effort has been widely acknowledged by the LGUs (local government units) in her jurisdiction,” Hotchkiss said.

Local governments have responded positively to Daba’s initiative and have donated more dogs to the K-9 pool.

“They know it is for the good  of the community so they are pitching in. The K-9 unit is ultimately for their own welfare because having safe and secure airports in the region would usher in economic growth,” Hotchkiss said.

The creation of a K-9 division will institutionalize and boost security at the CAAP-controlled commercial airports nationwide and eliminate threats. Apart from the detection of explosives and illegal drugs, the CAAP plans to train dogs in bird tracking to prevent bird strikes on commercial aircraft.

 Immune

“While we have noise-producing equipment to shoo away birds from the runways in the airports, the birds grow immune to the sound, which increases the possibility of bird strikes,” Hotchkiss said, adding that there must be no obstruction to an airplane’s takeoff and landing.

According to the CAAP official, the use of dogs for dispersing birds will be very effective in the CAAP-managed commercial airports where flights are intermittent.

He said the dogs could also serve as deterrents to runway incursions, including cattle and other stray animals, which also imperil aircraft.