Airlines throw security norms to the wind

Mumbai: After 9/11, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) introduced Document 9811, a manual that gives a list of security checks, which airlines should carry out "when there is an indication that an aircraft is at an elevated risk''. Annexe 6 of the document demands mandatory inspection of every aircraft before a flight if the risk perception is high. In the last few days, with airports in Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi getting terror alerts, airlines operating from these places-as per the ICAO order-should have carried out thorough searches of aircraft before flights. If sources are to be believed, airlines have hardly followed ICAO security norms.
"When there was a specific threat in each of these airports, how could airlines turn around their flight in 30 minutes?'' wondered Capt M Ranganathan, an air-safety expert.
Conducting a thorough inspection of, say an A320 aircraft, would take about 30-45 minutes. If the ICAO mandated inspection was conducted, the time between landing and take-off would have gone up and schedules should have gone haywire on Thursday, the day the alert was received for the airports.
08/12/08 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Safety Dec 2008