The cargo operators at SA’s main aviation gateway work in fear of criminal attacks and the theft of goods they transport.
The cargo terminal at OR Tambo International Airport (ORT), the "hub of our economy", deals with about 793t on an average working day, says Roy Solomons, commercial director at BidAir Cargo and chair of the Air Cargo Operators’ Committee (Acoc).
"Imports and exports drive the economy and ultimately the fiscus," he says. "We play a crucial role."
Several crimes highlight the dangers faced at the terminal. In the most recent incident, in July 2020, police killed two robbers and arrested seven. One person was wounded.
Despite this, ORT officials say the facility is not a soft target, and deny accusations of poor security.
Yet aviation cargo sources report that until recently the terminal’s access control was inadequate.
Solomons tells the FM that until recently, the key weakness at the terminal gate was that security guards failed to pick up forged IDs so criminals could slip through.
Acoc has 34 members, representing organisations with facilities at ORT and Cape Town International Airport. These include local and international airlines, as well as the SA Express Parcel Association and the SA Association of Freight Forwarders.
After pressure from cargo operators this year, ORT improved access controls and the screening of people entering the cargo terminal by requiring more documentation and clearances.
In July, Acoc and the Airports Company SA (Acsa) signed a new standard operating procedures document to improve security at the ORT cargo terminal.
Solomons says: "Our customers are now required to advise us beforehand who is coming to the terminal, what vehicle they are driving and where they are going to, so that we can advise the security officers at the ORT cargo terminal gate. The officers double-check that information.
"We’d like to see an automated system that would verify visitors rather than security guards having to check the information from an e-mail."
He says Acoc is waiting for Acsa to respond to its request to implement that improvement.
Despite the changes, Solomons says: "There is always the risk of individuals with criminal intent gaining access, so the ORT cargo terminal is still vulnerable."
Sources at the terminal say criminals now target the vehicles carrying cargo after these have left the terminal because of the tighter security over terminal access.
Rhenus Logistics SA risk manager Martin Taylor supports Solomons’s comments, saying that there have been several warehouse robberies in recent years at the cargo terminal. Rhenus handles vulnerable and valuable cargo.
Taylor says Acsa and other stakeholders have improved cargo terminal control measures, but it remains vulnerable due to the cargo passing through it.
ORT general manager Jabulani Khambule denies that there has been a string of heists at the terminal, though he confirms the attempted heist in July 2020.
In July 2017, an armed robber was shot dead during an attempted cargo heist, he says. In August 2017, Acsa disclosed that this event happened at Swissport’s ORT facilities, according to the Parliamentary Monitoring Group’s website.
On June 4 2017 criminals stole perishable cargo within the cargo terminal, Acsa disclosed in parliament. Acsa also told parliament that on October 12 2016 armed men dressed as police officers robbed African Freight Services at the cargo terminal of cellphones.
Taylor says criminals robbed the Swissport ORT warehouse in July 2019 and October 2019. The FM sent questions to Swissport SA chief commercial officer Bob Gurr for confirmation. He acknowledged receipt of the e-mail but did not respond further.
Khambule says criminals can target air cargo companies’ vehicles after leaving ORT, and these incidents could account for other heists.
In response to the accusations of poor security, Khambule denies that access to the cargo terminal is easy. "Besides security officers at access points, officers patrol the other areas and CCTV cameras monitor the buildings. It is entirely false to claim that anyone can walk through the cargo terminal to where the aircraft park. Thorough measures are in place, and it is false to suggest that the cargo area is vulnerable to crime," he says.
The FM sent questions to police spokesperson Col Athlenda Mathe about what the police are doing to make the ORT cargo terminal safer. Mathe did not respond.
Solomons says ORT’s cargo facilities are over 50 years old.
"The terminal is the hub of our economy, but we are sitting with old, inefficient infrastructure. As a result, the cargo terminal became a very vulnerable area."
The cargo terminal also faces daily blockages because it has only one entrance and exit.
Solomons calls for the revamp of the facility, saying an overhaul has been on the cards for 20 years.
There is less cargo theft at the Cape Town airport and King Shaka International Airport, Durban, because the cargo that passes through them is not as vulnerable or valuable.
Solomons says Acoc’s members have reported robberies at Cape Town related to perishable items, including abalone and lobsters, over the past three years.
Dube cargo terminal manager Ricardo Isaac says the facility handles all the cargo transported through King Shaka. "We have had no incidents of theft or pilferage since commencing operations in May 2010," he says.
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