RIYADH, 5 May 2005 — The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has decided to set up operation rooms linking all airports in the member countries in a renewed bid to crack down on terrorists and criminals, while ensuring close coordination to confront security challenges.
Senior GCC officials said here yesterday that the agreement will enable member states to exchange information to ensure increased safety of airports and air travelers, while checking cross-country movements of suspects and criminals. “The unification of security measures at GCC airports as per the International Civil Aviation Organization’s safety procedures were reviewed recently at a meeting of GCC officials,” sources at the GCC General Secretariat said.
Linking operations rooms at airports will enable member states to exchange information about wanted persons and coordinate measures aimed at ensuring protection and safety of travelers.
The number of passengers arriving at the Gulf airports is rising sharply, prompting an urgent need to monitor the movement.
The region has some of the world’s biggest airports. For example, Riyadh’s King Khaled International Airport is manned by some 4,000 personnel, said Mohammed ibn Masoud Al-Qahtani, a KKIA official.
Referring to the security measures to be implemented at airports, the GCC officials said “an agreement has also been reached to introduce eye-scan system as adopted by UAE immigration authorities”.
Lt. Col. Maher Ahmed Ali, a Bahraini official, said after UAE, his country would be the first to adopt the eye-scan technology in the region. On other issues agreed upon, he said a proposal by the UAE to set electronic communication network linking all GCC countries had also been approved.
