Airports across India on high alert after terror threat, anti-hijack units on standby
New Delhi/Hyderabad: Airports across India were put on high alert by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security after the state-run Airports Authority of India got a letter in Kolkata that warned of terror attacks on Air India flights at Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Kochi by suicide bombers.
After this, the BCAS sounded an alert across the country and checks were carried out at Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Kochi airports.
In Hyderabad, the security at the airport has been doubled and checkings intensified. All access routes to the airport are being guarded by police working in double shifts, said an insider.
Sources said the warning mentioned threats to Air India flights operating between these cities.
There were reports that all airport emergency mechanisms were in place, and anti-hijacking units were on high alert.
The aviation authorities in Delhi also took stock after the terror threat. Sources said passengers’ baggage was scrutinised thoroughly, while ladder-point security checks (before passengers board aircraft) were also being carried out. Sky marshals were deployed to guard aircraft mid-air.
India has not witnessed any major aviation terror attack after the hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1999, after which India had to release three dreaded terrorists to secure the safety of hijacked passengers.
While aviation security measures were beefed up in later years, airlines and airports in India remain high on the radar as a target for terrorists operating from Pakistan.
There were reports that all airport emergency mechanisms were in place, and anti-hijacking units were on high alert.
The aviation authorities in Delhi also took stock after the terror threat. Sources said passengers’ baggage was scrutinised thoroughly, while ladder-point security checks (before passengers board aircraft) were also being carried out. Sky marshals were deployed to guard aircraft mid-air.
India has not witnessed any major aviation terror attack after the hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1999, after which India had to release three dreaded terrorists to secure the safety of hijacked passengers.
While aviation security measures were beefed up in later years, airlines and airports in India remain high on the radar as a target for terrorists operating from Pakistan.
