Flying guards spread wings

New Delhi: Flights to the US and Germany will soon have air marshals, the move prompted by an increase in perceived threats in the aftermath of the Mumbai attack.
The decision was taken at a meeting cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar recently held with secretaries of various ministries and the chiefs of intelligence and security agencies.
Civil aviation ministry officials, who were also part of the discussions, are working on the plan to put marshals on board.Sky marshals are specially trained National Security Guard commandos from the 52 Special Action Group. The Centre will increase the number of such marshals from the existing 200.
Official sources said marshals were already deployed on international and national flights to some destinations in Europe, West Asia and Southeast Asia. The flights have so far been selected randomly but now all routes deemed sensitive will have marshals permanently.The idea behind increasing the number of marshals is to bolster in-flight security and improve the ability of quick-response teams at airports to counter crises, such as hijacks.
US military think tank Rand Corporation had stressed the need for better co-ordination between the agencies of both countries in a report prepared after 26/11.
Indian security officials agreed with the assessment, and their decision to strengthen in-flight protection by putting marshals on more routes was based on the increase in terror threats highlighted by the Rand report.
Another intelligence panel is said to have looked at the possibility of terrorists wrapping themselves with plastic explosives to blow up planes or installations.
18/02/09 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/The Telegraph

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Categories: Safety Feb 2009