Indian airlines lax on security

Mumbai: When a terror alert goes off in the US, the Transportation Services Administration (TSA) sets in motion a point-to-point security check. In India, though, the scene is very different. Even as airports and airlines across the country have been functioning under the shadow of terror threats and hijack alerts post 26\11—there have been five big alerts already this year—security is one area that has been overlooked by airlines.
Secondary ladder point security checks, an extra security filter during high alert situations, is a random phenomenon than a mandatory one. Though every circular forwarded by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) mentions that these checks be conducted till the alert is on, the rule is scarcely implemented. "If the alert is limited to only a certain flight, the checks are conducted properly. However, if it is a general threat and all airlines and aircraft have to be kept under scanner, the ladder point checks become more infrequent," a senior airport official said. "Airlines have been citing shortage of staff as the reason for not counduting regular checks during red alerts," he added.
In 2007, all airlines were reprimanded by BCAS after they failed to implement the RP Singh committee report (2006) on security checks. Officials said the situation hasn’t changed much. "Even right after 26\11 attacks in Mumbai, airlines could not deploy staff to conduct ladder point checks," a security official said.
The report recommended security checks in the cargo area, departure halls, catering vans, baggage segregation areas, aircraft parking etc during sensitive situations like a terror threat. This is apart from the usual screenings at the airport.
15/04/10 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Categories: Safety Apr 2010