Nodal agency makes flight take-off easier

Kolkata: It was a huge celebration weekend the world over, but the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the nodal agency for safety at Indian airports, worked overtime. Forgetting their five-day work schedule, the bureau's men in Kolkata attended office during the festive weekend to scrutinize 2,500 pass applications submitted by ground handling staff.
Thanks to their rather thankless job, flight operations went off smoothly on Saturday, leaving behind fears of a major disruption on January 1.
Though security clearance passes, mandatory for access into the airport, are issued in advance with BCAS processing applications mid-month to ensure that new passes for the following month are handed out in time, the entire process for January's passes had been kept in abeyance till December 30, anticipating the roll-out of a new ground handling policy from January 1.
The policy, evolved to address security concerns on the presence of multiple agencies at airports, has been challenged by carriers in Delhi high court. It is on the basis of its stay order that BCAS has been forced to work overtime.
07/01/11 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2011