NEW DELHI: India on Saturday put all its airports on high alert after a phone call made to Air India's Mumbai control centre threatened to hijack an aircraft.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) ordered all airlines and CISF to follow specific enhanced measures to ensure security, according to an official note.
"A telephonic message received by the station duty office, AI (Air India) AOCC (Airport Operation Control Centre) Mumbai, stating information regarding a threat to Indian Airlines flight getting hijacked to Pakistan on 23.2.2019," stated the BCAS note on Saturday.
"In view of the above, APSU (Airport Security Unit)/ASG (Aviation Security Group) and all aircraft operators shall adopt the following (eight) measures with immediate effect," the note added. Both APSU and ASG are part of the Central Industrial Security Force.
The Parliament passed Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill in 2014 in order to lay down new protocol to deal with hijacking of an airplane.
"The Bill provides death punishment for the offence of hijacking, where such offence results in the death of a hostage or of security personnel; or with imprisonment for life and the moveable and immovable property of such persons shall also be liable to be confiscated," the central government said in a statement.
(With PTI inputs)