Delhi airport a sitting duck for terror attacks

New Delhi: Breaches in the perimeter fence of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and the construction of a hospitality zone close to one of the runways make the busy city airport vulnerable to a high-profile terror attack.
A portion of the airport's boundary wall has been razed to facilitate transportation of construction material to a 45-acre hospitality hub called Aerocity inside the airport premises. A cluster of luxury hotels is coming up on the site barely 150-200m from the main runway.
Terrorists can easily sneak into the airport through this opening, left unguarded, and blow up aircraft or critical installations. The Headlines Today team managed to reach the site without once being challenged along the way. With more than 10 five-star hotels and malls being constructed there, nobody checks who is coming in or going out.
The site is dangerously close to some highly sensitive areas of the airport such as the localiser, an aircraft navigation aid located near the runway. From this spot, a terrorist can have a direct shot at a landing aircraft.
Besides, the Delhi Police fear terrorists would be able to launch attacks on the airport from rooftops or rooms of hotels coming up in Aerocity. The police say security clearance has not been given to the hospitality zone.
But the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), a consortium which is modernising the city airport led by GMR Infrastructure Limited, claims all necessary permission has been obtained.
26/07/11 Atir Khan/India Today

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Categories: Airports Jul 2011, Safety Jul 2011