GoPro camera eyed to rid bag pilferage at NAIA

The camera to be attached to the chest of the vest of baggage handlers

TO eradicate baggage pilferage, a private security company has offered to the Manila International Airport Authority  a wide-angle high-definition GoPro camera that will be attached to the chest of the vest of luggage loaders while at work to record the working areas where luggage is coming out from the plane to the conveyors.

A private security official said this wide-angle lens camera could be the solution to the problem of pilferage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals because it can record the transport of passengers’ luggage from the plane up to the conveyor and vice versa.

The camera has rechargeable batteries that can last eight to 12 hours of continuous use, and a memory card that can be transferred to a memory data bank for review and future use.

MIAA General Manager Ed Monreal has sought the assistance of members of the Airline Operators Council  operating at the NAIA terminals by providing his office with a report identifying where pilferage often took place.

Monreal has also tapped the services of his Assistant General Manager for Emergency and Security Services Allen Capuyan and the Airport Police Department  to investigate and, if possible, to arrest the culprits behind the pilferage incidents.

NAIA was taken out of the list  of worst airports in the world and Asia in a survey of travellers by the “Sleeping in Airports” blog.

“Hard work and discipline are the keys to success that is why my assistant managers  and I are collecting new ideas…to improve the airport and curb the pilferage,” Monreal said.

“We will study the recommendations of the private security regarding the use of a high definition camera to be attached to all luggage loaders on-duty however, the airline and the service providers will shoulder the expenses,” he added.

Victims of pilferage had often discovered the theft hours after leaving the airport, and many of them had expressed their outrage by posting on social media, which had often turned viral.

Monreal had urged passengers to refrain from packing valuables in their checked-in luggage  as these pass through a number of hands, increasing the chances of pilferage.

Statistics relating to the incidence of baggage theft were hard to come by as airline companies had no data of the number of bags that were tampered with.

Recently, items believed to have been stolen from passengers’ bags were discovered in the lockers of six baggage handlers at NAIA.