Two days after reporting on large holes in the perimeter fencing around Vancouver International Airport, CTV News has uncovered other apparent weaknesses that one security expert says are troubling.
Turns out some of the fencing is made of plastic, not coated steel. And there doesn't appear to be much more than crude fasteners holding the fencing in place.
A bolt cutter appears to be all that's needed to get through the locks on access gates that lead to a runway.
UBC security expert Michael Byers told CTV News he was troubled by the findings.
"I don't think the U.S. Secret Service would be pleased with what you've learned. If President Barack Obama was going to be coming to the Olympics on Air Force One, they don't want that kind of access, that close to his airplane," he said.
"Why isn't there a high security fence? Why are there not concrete bollards that are preventing vehicles from driving through the fence onto the runway itself?"
CTV News approached a guard in a yellow SUV outside the airport's perimeter. He said there are patrols around the perimeter day and night.
He declined to comment further.
YVR spokeswoman Rebecca Catley said she couldn't discuss details of the airport's security plans because it could compromise security.
However, she said the fencing is just one layer in a multi-layered security plan.
"Sometimes it's not what you see, but what you don't see that provides some of that robust security," she said.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger
