Airports across the country have been put on high alert till August 20 in view of Independence Day. Initially, there was a perceived threat from hijacked or hired helicopters, but sources said the issue had been addressed. Meanwhile, entry of visitors inside airport buildings has been prohibited and all airlines have to carry out a mandatory ladder point security check for passengers.
The alert against choppers had been issued keeping in mind that passengers travelling by a helicopter did not go through any security checks. Officials revealed that very often, helicopter operators did not even have a list of those travelling. "Normally when one charters a helicopter, they only give a number of the total people travelling on it and no other details. In such a situation, it becomes very difficult establishing the credential of all passengers,'' said ministry sources.
Last year, intelligence inputs had warned of a possible attack from autos after which their entry into IGI Airport had been monitored strictly.
"There were some issues but they have now been sorted out and all loopholes have been plugged,'' said Maushumi Chakravarty, spokesperson, ministry of civil aviation.
Meanwhile, airlines have been told to beef up security at their end as well and carry out ladder point checks.
However, airline sources said they had been asked to take `stringent' measures, which did not imply similar checks for all flights and that it was not possible to carry out ladder point security for all flights. "Since the aircraft are parked in remote bays where passengers are taken by bus, it will be very difficult to make them wait in the open while the checking is done,'' said airport sources.
Anita Khanna (name changed), who travelled to Mumbai on Kingfisher flight IT-302 on Thursday morning, said no such checking was carried out. "We boarded the flight normally. Beyond security check by the CISF, no other checks were carried out,'' she said. When contacted, a Kingfisher Airline spokesperson said, "We are carrying out ladder point checks in full compliance with the guidelines issued in this regard.''
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