Unused airstrips remain unguarded

Chennai: In spite of a ministry direction to upgrade the security on all airstrips owned by the Airports Authority of India almost three months ago, in view of the terror attacks in Mumbai, almost nothing seems to have been done.
In a directive to all airports, Civil Aviation ministry had sighted the importance of manning of airspace and airstrips to avoid any intrusion or misuse by terror elements. In view of this, the ministry had made a list of all private, military, government and AAI airstrips that needed to be brought under strict vigilance.
About five unused airstrips fall in the southern region and due to lack of adequate security personnel from within AAI, the Director General of Resettlement (DGR) was approached to provide ex-serviceman to fulfil the requirements. But no action has been coming forth after that.
“There is a need for at least 15 security men at each of the airstrips.
We currently have only three on each of them. There are no men to replace these men either. The situation is so bad that if one of the men go on leave, then the other two have to work continuously to cover the absentee’s shift. In such a scenario, ex-servicemen were our best bet, a request for whom has already been made a month back but there is no response yet,” an airline official told Express.
The security in southern region is controlled from Chennai and the need for tighter control on Rajmundari airstrip is being cited considering the naxalite influence on that area. But the ministry and the DGR seem to be showing all words and no action.
24/02/09 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

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Categories: Airports Feb 2009, Safety Feb 2009