Five-day drill to foil hijack

Calcutta: A team of elite National Security Guard (NSG) commandos has been conducting counter-hijacking operations at the Calcutta airport as part of a security overhaul to foil any terror strike.
Civil aviation ministry sources said the drill by the 176 commandos started on Tuesday and will continue till Saturday.
“The commandos are here to get a feel of the topography of the airport and the various types of aircraft that operate from there. It’s part of a nation-wide exercise that includes the four metros,” an official in the civil aviation ministry said today.
The official, however, clarified that the mock exercise at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport was not linked to the Centre’s plan to set up an NSG base in each metro following the Mumbai siege.
Of the commandos involved in the anti-hijacking operations, 50 are permanently stationed in Calcutta and the rest arrived on a special aircraft on December 23.
“These 50 commandos will move to some other location and a new set will come in,” said an airport official.
Sources said the drill involving various types of aircraft is being held in the evening at hangar 14.
“An empty aircraft is being moved out of the hangar to the bay, where the commandos are playing out various tactics to neutralise hijackers. A crucial component of the operation is entering the aircraft unnoticed,” said an official.
26/12/08 The Telegraph

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Dec 2008, Safety Dec 2008