Adelaide Airport security guard Peter Zidov loses unfair dismissal claim after distracting conversation at security checkpoint
AN Adelaide Airport security officer has lost his job — and a claim for unfair dismissal — after failing to monitor a metal detector for four minutes as he chatted with a colleague.
AN Adelaide Airport security officer has lost his job after endangering airline security by failing to watch a security checkpoint for four minutes while chatting with a colleague.
The Fair Work Commission heard last week that three passengers were able to walk through the gate unobserved while Peter Zidov was distracted.
Mr Zidov lost his application for unfair dismissal after Commissioner Christopher Platt dismissed claims that the security officer was watching “carefully and attentively”.
Mr Zidov was caught during a passenger screening audit at 7am on March 13, 2018.
The audit claimed he was not watching his assigned metal detector for four minutes.
Security camera footage presented during the Fair Work hearings showed Mr Zidov in animated conversation with the security officer monitoring the metal detector next to his.
“He is having an active and animated discussion with the adjacent male aviation protection officer,” Mr Platt said.
“His body moves considerably. On a number of occasions his head moves east approximately 45 degrees from a centre-line between him and the metal detector towards the adjacent male.
“During these times a number of persons walk through the metal detector while Mr Zidov’s head is not facing towards the machine.
“The potential impact of a failure of Mr Zidov to properly observe passengers about to enter the sterile area of the Adelaide Airport is obvious and present a risk to airline passenger safety.”
Mr Platt compared Mr Zidov to an officer standing near him, likening the other man to a “Grenadier Guard” who did not take his eyes off the metal detector.
Mr Zidov was subject to several other disciplinary hearings over his 12-year career at Adelaide Airport, including being reprimanded for being under the influence of alcohol while at work and failing to complete explosive trace detections on passengers in November 2017.
Mr Zidov argued that he had only been distracted for 10-15 seconds during a brief handover with the security officer monitoring the gate before him.
Mr Platt dismissed Mr Zidov’s claim for unfair dismissal, saying that while he could not rule out that the officer had properly observed the passengers, he reached the conclusion that Mr Zidov was not careful and attentive when he should have been.
In May, The Advertiser revealed that Adelaide Airport was grappling with a series of security breaches affecting their baggage check system which had allowed guns, ammunition and knives to pass into the terminal.
The breaches were blamed by whistleblowers on poor security training and failed security systems.