Central agencies spent over Rs 350 crore to create new infrastructure facilities at Dabolim International Airport. Their aim was to improve the handling capacity of loads from the international and domestic sector. Meanwhile, the idea of ensuring foolproof security has somewhere gone missing.
Today, a terrorist or hijacker can gain easy access right up to the second floor of the terminal building with any airline ticket in hand; one need not have to go through security screenings until the second floor, where the hand luggage gets checked only at a security check in area before one boards into the aircraft. This is a grave security lapse.
Even police officials endorse that having luggage checked on the second floor is pointless. “What is the point of checking the passenger or his luggage on the second floor? This appears to be a formality to safeguard only the aircraft, but what about the aerodrome? From the threat point of view, anyone can easily gain access and can cause destruction in the aerodrome and also to the aircraft,” said Dabolim airport Police Inspector Brutano Peixeto.
All these loopholes can lead to a disaster because the Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials are yet to install a Door Frame Metal Detector machine (DFMD) at both departure gates of the terminal building. The proposal made by the CISF for the same is yet to see the light of day.
“It is really serious; this shows that the security at the airport is not foolproof, but has several loopholes. Moreover, the security at the old airport was much better than the security at the new airport” said a senior police official who did not want to be named.
31/12/15 Navin Jha Navin/Herald
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Today, a terrorist or hijacker can gain easy access right up to the second floor of the terminal building with any airline ticket in hand; one need not have to go through security screenings until the second floor, where the hand luggage gets checked only at a security check in area before one boards into the aircraft. This is a grave security lapse.
Even police officials endorse that having luggage checked on the second floor is pointless. “What is the point of checking the passenger or his luggage on the second floor? This appears to be a formality to safeguard only the aircraft, but what about the aerodrome? From the threat point of view, anyone can easily gain access and can cause destruction in the aerodrome and also to the aircraft,” said Dabolim airport Police Inspector Brutano Peixeto.
All these loopholes can lead to a disaster because the Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials are yet to install a Door Frame Metal Detector machine (DFMD) at both departure gates of the terminal building. The proposal made by the CISF for the same is yet to see the light of day.
“It is really serious; this shows that the security at the airport is not foolproof, but has several loopholes. Moreover, the security at the old airport was much better than the security at the new airport” said a senior police official who did not want to be named.
31/12/15 Navin Jha Navin/Herald
