WATCH: OR Tambo expresses ‘deep regret’ over headscarf incident

The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has expressed its “deep regret” after a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf was subjected to a full body search at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

Nadia Adam claimed the search was unwarranted as she had not set off any alarms at security checkpoints.

Ordeal

Adam posted a video of her ordeal on Instagram in which she had a conversation with a security officer at OR Tambo airport after being subjected to a physical body search.

Adam said she was confused when a security officer checked her head and then continued to touch the rest of her body.

“She literally touched me everywhere! I then asked myself why she was doing that because I had not set off the machines.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nadia Adam (@fabfunctions_bynadia)

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Regret

ACSA spokesperson Samukelo Khambule told The Citizen, the incident was unfortunate.

“ACSA deeply regrets causing any offense to Ms Nadia Adam at O. R Tambo International Airport.”

“Following Ms Adam’s comment on social media, ACSA immediately reached out to her to explain that the incident, while very unfortunate, does not in any way constitute an attempt to isolate and target individuals on the basis of their look, attire, religion, race, gender or place of origin,” Khambule said.

Security threats

Jabu Khambule, Regional General Manager at O.R. Tambo International Airport added that independent of recent security threats in other places around the country, ACSA is beefing-up security at all its airports.

“We are constantly working with all our stakeholders, including airlines, to ensure that all our passengers, local or international, have a safe and hassle-free experience at all our airports.”

“On a bi-weekly basis, the Security Technical Committee comprising ACSA, Saps, Customs and Immigration officials from the Department of Home Affairs, meet to explore and implement measures that will strengthen safety and security across the entire value chain with the view to protect passengers,” he said.

Mandatory searches

Khambule said ACSA is also ensuring strict adherence to international best practices.

“These include those set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a specialised agency of the United Nations, where an individual may be requested to avail themselves to a physical search, only after a certain number of passengers have passed the security control point.”  

“Standard operating procedure dictates that security personnel perform such a search only when automatically prompted by the system that is in place. That means passengers are randomly selected to go through such an exercise. Because the ICAO standard is recognised as international best practice, ACSA has deemed it a mandatory security measure,” he said.

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