Some persons have been saying that the recent Stephen Fray hijacking situation at the Sangster's International Airport in Montego Bay is the first security breach for the facility. Well, technically, it may be if we are looking at it from the angle of making it through security checkpoints, hijacking an aircraft and getting worldwide media attention.

However, have we forgotten about the eight and seven-year-old boys who, early last year, ran on to the airport's runway, chasing planes?

The story which was published in THE STAR on March 4, 2008 spoke of how the kids left the parish of Westmoreland, some 40 miles away and came to Montego Bay in search of planes, and consequently the airport. Why you ask? The youngsters said they wanted to go abroad. The children told police that they followed the sound of the planes that lead to Montego Bays popular 'Dead End', a spot where a wall and fence separates a public beach and hotspot from the airport's runway.

Of course, the wall and fence did not deter the determined boys. They walked around the wall and climbed over the fence then started chasing planes on the tarmac. A pilot had to make a call after which airport authorities snatched up the youngsters. This was after they were blown to the ground twice by forceful aeroplane exhaust however.

So, the baseline of the argument is this: the hijacking is really the second publicised security breach at the Sangster International Airport in just over a year. The first breach was at the hands of the kids while the second was at the bidding of a young man said to be suffering from mental illness. Let's hope we get it together before the professionals get any ideas.