Armed personnel on select routes to provide security
Picture used for representational purpose. (Photo: PTI/File)
Chennai: Air passengers need not get alarmed by the recent reports of hijack and bomb threats, say officials of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), pointing out that the bureau has been using ‘sky marshals’ on board select flights to manage any emergencies in air. Besides, security at all airports has been tightened further.
“We procure regular tickets for them and send them on flights when we suspect some problem. Even the concerned airline wouldn’t be aware of their presence,” said a senior BCAS official, adding that at times even two to three sky marshals would be deployed on a single flight but they themselves wouldn’t know each other on the flight. “This practice has been in vogue for quite sometime and used frequently during emergency situations.”
While the officer’s words should comfort the passengers, his admission of an obvious systemic flaw causes concern. It would be dangerous to place more than one sky marshal on a flight and one does not know about the other, as then there could be fatal engagements between them in a fast-paced rescue operation during a hijack or bomb threat in air.
In India, the concept of deploying sky marshals began soon after the 1999 hijack incident of Indian Airlines IC 814 from Nepal to Kandahar. After 9/11, the US made it mandatory for all flights in the country to have an armed guard on board.
While the National Security Guards were earlier posted as sky marshals, today, privately trained men are posted to handle emergency situations.
Even on Thursday, there was palpable tension at Chennai airport when the Oman Air flight from Chennai to Muscat was delayed due to bomb threat received at Delhi ATC. “Whether it is a prank call or a serious threat, we do take all precautionary measures before allowing the plane to take-off,” a security official added.
( Source : dc )
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