False! CCTV cameras cover airport tarmacs

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Claim: Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor claims that international aviation standards demand no CCTV camera coverage on airport tarmacs.

Verdict: False! While not all airports may have uniform CCTV coverage on their tarmacs, international standards do not forbid such surveillance. Many modern international airports, such as Heathrow, Dubai, and Doha, have deployed advanced systems—including infrared CCTV and radar-based monitoring—specifically to enhance security and detect foreign objects on runways and tarmacs.

Full Text

On April 8, 2025, National Investigation Bureau operatives attempted to summon/arrest Rev. Ntim-Fordjour.

This followed his April 2025 press briefing on the alleged arrival of two aircraft, which he, together with the minority caucus, believed were involved in drug trafficking and possible money laundering.

This generated several discussions on social and traditional media. Depending on which side of the political divide citizens found themselves on, they either expressed shock or support for their political group.

In discussing the attempted arrest and suspicious flight saga, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, the majority chief whip, asserted that the MP for Assin South was oblivious to aviation procedures.

He said that tarmacs are far from the airside at airports, so there is no CCTV coverage.

“Now he’s gone further to say that they should produce CCTV cameras. Do you know how the airport works? I told him that if he had some understanding in the airline industry, he wouldn’t say the kind of things he has said. For instance, there are no CCTV cameras on the tarmacs. The tarmacs are quite far away from where the CCTV cameras are positioned. The CCTV cameras check security arrangements and movements along the structural buildings, but on the tarmacs, no,” he said.

Find the claim from 12:20 to 12:53 as posted on the JoyNews YouTube page.

His assertion gained traction on social media, and several users wondered if that was true. DUBAWA decided to investigate the claim.

Verification

According to the International Airport Review report, Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) has been a prevalent part of aviation security practice since the 1980s. Airports have contributed to the growth and innovation in CCTV usage.

At airports, CCTV has been employed to monitor movements within the airport complex and activities around the aerodrome.

In DUBAWA’s fact-checking context, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor’s assertion that airport tarmacs universally lack CCTV coverage is not entirely accurate, especially when considering the advanced surveillance systems implemented at major international airports.

At London Heathrow Airport, for instance, the integration of the Tarsier system illustrates a sophisticated approach to runway and tarmac surveillance. This system combines high-resolution millimetric-wave radar with infrared CCTV cameras capable of detecting foreign object debris (FOD) as small as a suitcase wheel.

It operates around the clock, delivering real-time alerts and enabling swift responses to any hazards on the runway surfaces.

Initially installed on Heathrow’s southern runway in June 2008, the Tarsier system had proven so effective that, by October 2009, it was also being installed on the northern runway.

According to a press release dated 08 October 2009, Colin Wood, then Director of Airside Operations at Heathrow, expressed confidence in the system’s ability to enhance operational safety and efficiency. The inclusion of infrared cameras ensured high visibility even in low-light conditions, further improving the system’s capabilities.

While surveillance systems may differ across airports, Heathrow’s example highlights that advanced monitoring technologies are indeed used to oversee tarmac and runway areas.

Moreover, though it was initially designed for FOD detection, Tarsier can also inform the airport’s wider safety management system by detecting and identifying wildlife, such as birds on the runway. The system has already been deployed in regional airports such as Dubai International Airport and Doha Airport.

Also, many videos have been in the public domain, especially on the popular video platform YouTube, where airport CCTV cameras captured actions on their various tarmacs. Find videos of such incidents here, here, here, here, and here.

As such, the blanket claim that no CCTV or surveillance coverage exists on airport tarmacs does not hold universally and must be assessed within the specific context of each airport’s infrastructure and technological investments.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is the global regulatory body for aviation services. Ghana is a signatory to the ICAO under the Chicago Convention in 1944. In Ghana, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is the regulatory body responsible for airside management.

According to the GCAA’s All Weather Operations Manual, “intended” runways in Ghana must have: