Geneva airport staff receive training to spot signs of radicalization

Airport staff have been taking the course since the beginning of this year, Le Temps reported on Wednesday. 

 

Geneva airport’s spokesman Bertrand Stämpfli confirmed the news, telling the paper that the move aimed to “make people aware of the problem and to involve them in the response that we put forward”.

 

The training, approved by the cantonal government’s department of security, was “not dictated by any particular event but relates to the global context of threat that the airport’s management is well aware of,” said Stämpfli. “We know that the potential radicalization of individuals working on a sensitive site constitutes a risk.” 

 

Indeed, at the end of 2015 over 30 baggage handlers had their security passes revoked after it came to light that two of them, both French citizens, were on the radar of the French security services who believed them to have been radicalized.

 

The incident led to a spat between the French and Swiss authorities, with the French refusing to give Switzerland information vital for security checks on 200 French workers hired by the airport. 

 

Currently, baggage handlers are not receiving the new training, which applies to some 370 airport workers and 450 personnel from private security companies. However the course may be extended to other pass-holders once it has been evaluated, said Le Temps. 

 

According to the paper the course aims to raise awareness of the signs of radicalization whilst ensuring that this doesn't lead to discrimination of individuals due to their nationality or religion, it said.