Earlier we told you about the tropic air flight enroute to Corozal that made an emergency landing in the sea this morning. And while that incident is still under investigation, this week the Civil Aviation Department, local airlines, the police and other related agencies are discussing aviation security, particularly security from terrorism. Could there be a terrorist attack on Belize from the air and if there is, what would we do and would we be ready? That's the question being discussed. Operations Officer at the Civil Aviation Department Gilberto Torres and Mark Emerson from the United States' Transportation Safety Administration say that when it comes to aviation security, Belize is safe enough.
Gilberto Torres, Civil Aviation Department
"No country in the world can say they are safe. Nowadays with the amount of terrorist acts taking place, the only thing that we can do, the Department of Civil Aviation, has been entrusted as the regulatory body to oversee to have an oversight on all the different airport activities. So what we do is the responsibility, has been entrusted to the Belize Airport Concession Company to ensure that effective security measures are in place and this is what we are discussing at this point."
Keith Swift,
Are there sufficient measures in place?
Gilberto Torres,
"There are enough security measures in place."
Keith Swift,
From your point of view is there sufficient aviation security in Belize?
Mark Emerson, Transportation Security Administration
"It is a never stopping mission to stop acts of terrorism, criminal acts, in the world of civil aviation. Our enemies in the world today are looking for weaknesses. Through workshops such as this, we can strengthen, educate, and better prepare ourselves for this ongoing threat."
Mark Emerson is here along with Dana Glass from the Department of Homeland Security. The workshop ends on Friday.
