Country sees 31 incursions at airports in 3 yrs
5 April 2014 12:07 AM GMT
In a major security breach, around 31 incidents of incursions have been reported at airports across the country for the last three years. Serious security lapses at several non-metro airports like damaged X-ray machines, absence of explosive detectors and faulty metal detectors have been found by concerned agencies.Â
A case of a chief airport security officer’s driver flouting the norms was reported on 21 March. The said driver had went on a free- wheeling drive inside the restricted area of the airport.
According to the data provided to the Parliament by the bureau of civil aviation and the regulatory authority for civil aviation and the regularity authority for civil aviation security in the country, since January 2011 to 17 February, 2014 a total of 29 incidents of security lapses have been reported during the last three years.
The last but not the least, 30th incident, was reported on 11 March this year when a teenager went ahead with a half-hour long morning walk along the active runway after entering the campus climbing the boundary wall, which was reported on 21 March.
In the security officer’s driver case, the driver not only intruded into the airport in the CISF DIG’s official car but also drove into the apron area, where aircraft are parked, without valid documents, just to take a shortcut to reach the officer’s residence.Â
The driver, a private employee, kept on driving until accosted by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) security personnel.
‘There were a few cases of runway incursions at Delhi, Kolkata and Vijayawada airports recently but none of them was a case of near mishap,’ said the airport sources on the condition of anonymity.Â
He further said that any occurrence at an aerodrome involving the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft can be considered as the incursion.
Even the Lower House of the Parliament also addressed this issue and a question was also raised on 20 February, 2014 in which the ministry of civil aviation in its reply informed the house that in year 2011 total 17 incidents of incursions were reported, in year 2012 total 11 number of incursions were reported while in year 2013 only one incident of incursion was reported.
The ministry further said that security lapses were brought to the notice of concerned agencies for taking action against the individual responsible for it.
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