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Maktoums' tips will be returned
Thousands intended for airport personnel who guarded planes
By Jennifer Hewlett
JHEWLETT@HERALD-LEADER.COM

MARK CORNELISON/Mark Cornelison
Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum. 2006 file photo by Mark Cornelison | Staff
Blue Grass Airport public safety officers will not be allowed to keep thousands of dollars in tips left for them recently for guarding planes used by members of the ruling family of Dubai, airport officials said yesterday.

At least $8,000 in cash was left as gratuities for the officers from Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai, and his brother, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum. That money sat in an airport safe yesterday as airport officials tried to determine how to get it back to the sheikhs.

Airport board chairman Bernie Lovely said it was his understanding that the $8,000 was in three of more than 10 envelopes given to airport personnel by representatives of the Maktoums after recent visits by the sheikhs to Central Kentucky. The three opened envelopes -- two containing $3,000 in cash each and one containing $2,000 in cash -- and the other envelopes, which have never been opened, were in the airport safe for more than a week. At one point yesterday, the envelopes were in the hands of airport attorneys, but they were put back in the safe while airport officials tried to determine what to do.

"We're supposed to contact the head of security services for the Maktoums, and that's in England," Lovely said yesterday. "We will contact them first thing in the morning."

Friday, airport public safety officers will be hearing from their bosses about why they aren't allowed to accept the money. Lovely said the airport's legal counsel advised that state law prohibits the officers from accepting gratuities while on the job at the airport.

Lovely said, as he understands the state law, the airport public safety officers could face fines ranging from $500 to $5,000, jail time and removal from office if they accepted the money; the donors could face fines ranging from $500 to $5,000 for each instance. He said he thinks the law, which is designed to prevent people from currying favor with police officers, applies to all law enforcement officers in Kentucky.

Lovely said the airport's position is that none of the officers received the money and there's no reason for anyone to believe the Maktoums and their representatives were doing "anything other than being kind."

But, he said, "It would be ultimately up to the commonwealth attorney to determine whether a crime had been committed here."

"It's unfortunate that an act of recognition for outstanding service has resulted in this story," said airport executive director Michael Gobb.

Mark Saylor, a Los Angeles-based public relations adviser for the government of Dubai, said he was unable to reach his clients for comment on the matter yesterday.

"Tipping is very much a part of Middle Eastern culture," said Jenny Sutton-Amr, executive director of the Kentucky Islamic Resource Group. She added that this is the holy month of Ramadan, which is especially a time for giving for the world's Muslims.

"It is highly encouraged to give in the month of Ramadan," she said.

"There are other people who are really rich and they give very stingy tips. I think this speaks for their (the Maktoums') generosity. ... Arab culture is very much about graciousness."

Nineteen of the airport's 20 public safety officers, including public safety chief Scott Lanter, worked a total of 138 hours in overtime from Sept. 2 to Sept. 5 and a total of 2261/2 hours in overtime from Sept. 8 to Sept. 11, to guard three United Arab Emirates planes used by the Maktoums, airport spokesman Brian Ellestad said. The overtime was mandatory, Gobb said.

"There was probably an envelope for every person that worked during the several days they (the Maktoums) were here," Lovely said. One of the opened envelopes containing $3,000 bore the name of airport operations director John Coon. An envelope containing $2,000 bore Lanter's name, according to airport officials.

The Maktoums own horse farms in Central Kentucky and often visit the area for horse sales at Keeneland. The first September visit involved a 747, the second visit involved a 747 and a 737, airport officials said.

TAC-AIR, a fixed base operator at the airport that handles accommodations for private planes, including securing hangar space, made arrangements with airport officials for the airport officers to guard the planes. Lovely said the airport sends TAC-AIR statements showing the airport's costs in such situations. He said he assumed TAC-AIR, in this case, billed or will bill the Maktoums for the security provided for their planes.

The airport also has or is to receive $3,220 in fuel flowage fees and an additional $1,000 for its portion of ground handling fees from the Maktoums' visits this month, according to airport officials.

Airport officials said that years ago, private security firms did employ off-duty airport public safety officers to guard the Maktoums' planes, and those officers received gratuities for that work. Those gratuities were legal because the officers were working for private entities, they said.

Gobb instituted a policy under which airport officers were not allowed to work for private contractors on airport property after he assumed his position at the airport about 10 years ago, airport officials said.

Airport officials said they think this year is the first year airport public safety officers have guarded the Maktoums' and other private planes since the policy was put in place. For the past nine years or so, guards hired by private security firms watched over the planes, they said.

Lovely said he understood that TAC-AIR asked the airport to provide security for the Maktoums' planes.

"They (the Maktoums) are certainly good users of our airfield," he said, "and we were pleased to be able to provide these services for them."