STA, 23 May 2019 - A security inspector of the Civil Aviation Agency pretending to be a passenger managed to bring a dummy explosive device past the checkpoints at the Jože Pučnik Airport Ljubljana last week, public broadcaster TV Slovenija reported on Thursday.
Citing unofficial but reliable sources, TV Slovenija said that the dummy explosive device went undetected by a member of the security personnel. Airport operator Fraport Slovenija outsources security to GS4, a private security firm.
The report says that the inspector, posing as a passenger en route to Frankfurt, walked past the X-ray machine and the personal check, carrying the device in his backpack.
In correspondence with TV Slovenija, Civil Aviation Agency director Rok Marolt initially denied the agency having carried out a security check at the Ljubljana airport last week, but he eventually confirmed it.
The journalist indicated that Marolt had not been aware of the inspection earlier in the day, while Marolt said that he had not been trying to sweep the results under the rug.
The airport operator meanwhile said that "the described event did not take place. There was, however, an internal check, which the company will not comment on," the report says.
The agency told the STA that it received a classified report on the check at the beginning of the week. It added that the check was conducted according to protocol and that it recommended appropriate corrective measures.
In its statement for the STA, Fraport also pointed to the confidential nature of the report. When asked about hiring a different security firm, Fraport said that a call for bids was open at the moment. However, this has nothing to do with the internal check, as GS4's five-year contract is running out.
