BHUBANESWAR: An anti-hijacking mock drill was conducted at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here on Friday.“The officials of the Aerodrome Committee witnessed the entire drill, which started after 3 pm. The objective of the exercise was to clearly indicate the roles and responsibilities of different agencies in case a hijacking incident is reported,” a CISF official said.
As part of the drill’s staged scenario, hijackers took control of an aircraft in airspace and the pilot wanted to land the plane at BPIA. The pilot contacted Air Traffic Control (ATC) and sought permission to land the plane, following which the committee was alerted.
According to a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official, there is an Aerodrome Committee at the airport level to deal with any incident of hijacking. The committee is chaired by Home Secretary and comprises officials of the airport, airlines, police and CISF officials and others. Principal Secretary of Home Department Sanjeev Chopra, Twin City Commissioner of Police Sudhanshu Sarangi, BPIA Director Suresh Chandra Hota and CISF officials were among those present.