MoCA issues guidelines for security measures

Mumbai: According to a PTI report, with heightened terror threat on the aviation sector, a series of instructions has been issued to all state governments, airports and agencies concerned across the country by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), asking for strict compliance. P Chidambaram, Home Minister stated that MoCA has circulated instructions to all airports. M Madhavan Nambiar, Secretary, MoCA has also written to state governments and union territory administration to secure all airports and airstrips under its jurisdiction.
Besides securing the airports, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) have also issued instructions for additional layers of personal and hand-baggage checking before a passenger boards an aircraft. They have also directed that the strength of sky marshals be increased and should be put on more flights, rather than on the already identified sectors like those in Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast. Further DGCA will soon issue a new set of security guidelines for helicopter operators to report to the local police before conducting landings at any unscheduled place. Certain official sources informed that under the proposed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) or guidelines, if a helicopter has to land at an unscheduled place, the local police authorities will have to be informed in advance about the flight plans, as well as the identity of person travelling. The DGCA has sought security from either state police forces or central paramilitary forces at all helipads, including make-shift helipads which come into vogue mostly during elections.
Following the Mumbai serial terror strikes, MoCA, Indian Air Force, BCAS, CISF, DGCA and other related agencies have been assessing the threat perceptions on a regular basis and taking necessary measures. A series of meetings have been held to review the preparedness of “different layers” of security apparatus and safety mechanisms at major airports, as well as the airspace in the wake of fresh intelligence inputs.
29/12/08 TravelBizMonitor

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Categories: Safety Dec 2008