Tackling threats in the sky

New Delhi: As political developments in our part of the world play out, it is reasonable to assume that terrorism will continue all over the region and civil aviation is an obvious "soft" target. With terrorism getting increasingly sophisticated and technology-intensive, methods of security control will need to be correspondingly upgraded as rapidly as possible. Prior intelligence and quick positive identification of known suspects thus seem to offer the best protection against such elements and their support networks.
At the same time, airline traffic continues to grow. Future growth in the Asian region is projected at 15-18 per cent per annum and air cargo is expanding rapidly as well. This means moving progressively larger passenger and cargo volumes through air terminals rapidly, without unduly compromising on security issues. In addition, this needs to be achieved with minimal intrusion. This latter aspect will, in fact, be a factor in the future commercial success of an airport, and ultimately, of the destinations that it serves. The business world is already reacting negatively to the stringent new screening procedures that are being progressively introduced at US airports in recent years. International business growth in the US is adversely affected as a consequence, and is reflected in the fact that fewer passengers came into the US in 2007 than in the year preceding 9/11.
10/05/08 Vijay Mathur/Business Standard

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Categories: Safety May 2008