Grenade saga: ACS accuses ACSA of having blocked critical screening upgrades at OR Tambo Airport
Aviation Coordination Services (ACS) has hit back at Airports Company South Africa (ACSA)
Image: File
Aviation Coordination Services (ACS) has hit back at Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), accusing it of having blocked important upgrades to baggage screening equipment at OR Tambo International Airport.
This comes after a passenger managed to board an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Johannesburg on May 25 with two training grenades in their checked luggage, only for the items to be discovered upon arrival in Addis Ababa.
The company also denied that ACSA has the right to terminate its "provision of services" for hold baggage screening at the airport, adding that it has been providing hold baggage screening at the airport for over 25 years and is the legally approved service provider.
However, ACSA disputes this claim, arguing that ACS operates without a valid contract and is in breach of procurement laws.
In 2023, ACSA decided to insource the hold baggage screening (HBS) function, but was temporarily blocked by a court interdict obtained by ACS. According to the company, the matter is now set for mediation under the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy.
ACS said that the recent security breach involving training grenades was due to human error, but could have been avoided if ACSA had permitted upgrades to the screening equipment.
"For the past eight years, ACSA has prevented ACS from replacing HBS equipment at airports with more advanced and reliable screening technology.
"Had ACS been permitted to carry out the long-term HBS equipment upgrade and replacement, the security incident that took place on 25 May may well have been avoided," the company said.
ACS also claimed that "as a result of ACSA's refusals to allow it to replace the HBS equipment, ACS had to resort to bringing several urgent proceedings before the High Court in an attempt to force ACSA to permit the interim replacement of Level 3 back-up machines".
"ACS was successful in these proceedings and obtained three consecutive court orders against ACSA between November 2024 and May 2025".
However, ACSA described this claim as "factually incorrect," stating that any replacement of HBS equipment must be approved by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).
ACSA added that SACAA has previously communicated to ACS that it lacks the authority to replace HBS equipment, as ACS is not an airport operator.
"ACSA had issued a tender worth approximately R3.1 billion for the replacement of the entire HBS equipment. However, ACS obtained an interdict blocking ACSA from adjudicating the tender until the court’s review of ACSA’s decision to insource," ACSA said.
ACS also accused ACSA of delaying notification of the incident by 10 days, which slowed their investigation.
"Our investigation confirmed that the items were “Free From Explosive” (FFE) grenades, which are deactivated and used for training purposes and are safe for transportation. While the suspicious baggage was detected at Level 1 and Level 2 screening points, it was mistakenly cleared by a screener at Level 3".
In response, ACSA said that Ethiopian Airlines sent communication regarding the incident to an ACSA employee who was not the designated official as stipulated in the regulatory reporting arrangement, and "as a result, the communication was not immediately brought to the attention of the designated official".
"When the designated official was made aware, the matter was immediately reported to SACAA, and ACS was notified. The issue of the delayed reporting is being investigated, and appropriate action will be taken". ACSA said.
"While the matter of the delayed reporting is being addressed, this should not detract from the fact that the reason for the occurrence of the incident, which is negligent human error, took place under the watch of an unregulated and unlawful operator".
ACS added that it has "zero tolerance to any form of security breach and deems this incident as gross negligence by the screener, hence this led to the dismissal".
IOL Business
mthobisi.nozulela@iol.co.za