Hijack drill has offcials in a flap

Lucknow: Panic gripped top administrative and police officials in Lucknow when the news of hijacking of a Kolkata-bound flight spread like wildfire on Sunday afternoon.
A phone call from principal secretary, home, Uttar Pradesh, confirming the news, alarmed top authorities who rushed to the airport with commandos and paramedics. But after an hour of high drama, it turned out to be a drive to check the preparedness of the cops in the event of a hijack.
The drill began at 3.28 pm when Lucknow SSP Akhil Kumar, who was at a function at Lucknow Race Course, received a call from principal secretary (home) JN Chamber that a Delhi-Kolkata flight with 48 passengers on board was hijacked.
The caller also said two of the passengers were shot at and the plane was expected to land at Lucknow’s Amausi Airport shortly. Top officials of police, fire, health and other departments were alerted. DGP Vikram Singh, too, reached the airport in a jiffy.
After initial preparations, the officers rushed to the meeting hall for the emergency aerodrome committee meeting. It was here that the news of the mock drill was revealed.
17/12/07 Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui & Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Dec 2007, Safety Dec 2007