CHENNAI: A high-level meeting in the city on Thursday took stock of the plane hijack response system at the Chennai airport and decided to plug loopholes in the action plan.
While the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules are clear that such meetings must be held twice a year, the last one was held in February 2009. Airport Director Hareendranathan described Thursday's meeting as routine.
The airport had carried out an anti-hijack drill in April last, wherein a National Aviation Company Limited (NACIL) coach was treated as a passenger aircraft. "The drill showed the lacunae in the hijack response system. For example, it showed a communication gap between the pilot and negotiators on the ground. This was flagged at the meeting. The panel also discussed how the National Security Guard (NSG) should take position around the plane and the strategy it should adopt to storm the plane to neutralise the hijackers while avoiding collateral damage. Various loopholes came to light and all of them were discussed at length," a security agency source told Express.
A hijacked aircraft should ideally be isolated from the rest of the airport area to avoid damage to other aeroplanes. The officials found that the isolation bay used last time was too close to the perimeter wall on the GST Road, which left the NSG in a vulnerable position. After deliberations, a new spot in front of the viewers' gallery near the international terminal was identified. "Gradually we will shift it to a spot on the new extended runway and parking bays," an AAI source said.
The meeting also highlighted the need for 24/7 surveillance of the perimeter wall. Security was recently breached when a mentally unstable man entered the runway. "Installing cameras across the perimeter area has long been pending. In fact, a team from Delhi visited the airport last year to identify its requirements and submitted a report. We are looking at employing underground censors and hidden cameras along the perimeter. The proposal has been there for almost two years now and would be implemented soon," an airport source said.
The meeting also deliberated on procedures for immobilising an aircraft, negotiating with hijackers and the NSG's rapid entry and exit. "Even after these discussions, most of the agencies were not clear about their role in the event of an hijack. This issue will be addressed soon and functions of each agency outlined," a security source not wanting to be quoted said.
Among those who attended Wednesday's Aerodrome Committee meeting were Chief Secretary K S Sripathy, DGP Letika Saran, Suburban Police Commissioner S R Jangid, District Collector Santosh Misra, and representatives from the NSG, IAF, Navy, Airports Authority of India (AAI), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, which has the primary responsibility of safeguarding the airport, and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).