Start for Airport Early

...or you may miss the flight, as high alert in the wake of Pathankot terror attack and ahead of Republic Day has resulted in humongous check-in and security queues across the country; even footwear screened in Bengaluru
Start for Airport Early

If you are planning to fly within the next few days, better leave for the airport at least an hour before you would normally do, since there are humongous queues at the check-in and security levels. For, a multi-layer security ring has been thrown across all airports in the run-up to Republic Day following the Pathankot terror attack and the subsequent arrest of several suspected Islamic State (IS) sympathisers.

At the Bengaluru airport, security officials are taking no chances. You need to even take off your shoes and put them in a tray along with hand luggage, wallet and mobile phone for screening. A multilayer security ring has been thrown around the Bengaluru airport. Security has been beefed up at Hubballi, Mangaluru and Belagavi airports as well.

At the Chennai airport, additional personnel, including quick reaction teams and sniffer dogs have been deployed, while visitors have been barred from the premises. A silent security ladder check has been introduced three days ago. With this, after security clearance and before a passenger boards the flight, personnel would frisk them and check their baggage, director of Chennai airport, Deepak Shastri told Express. In view of this, passengers should reach the airport at least three hours prior to the departure of their flight especially in the mornings, he said.

Meanwhile, with intermittent terror alerts being received by Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi international airport authorities over the last few days and inputs suggesting an imminent attack by the IS, passengers flying out of the city are being subjected to screening and frisking, which includes removal of shoes, coats, blazers and even pullovers.

Officials at Thiruvananthapuram international airport told Express that special surveillance equipment has been brought to tighten security checks in the arrival and departure areas. Mock drills were conducted for all scenarios, including unattended baggage and intrusion attempts.

In Kochi, security has been further beefed up and surveillance upgraded at the Cochin International Airport. Security agencies are checking passengers, screening their baggage and cargo with extra care.

(With inputs from Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi bureaus)

No proof against  punjab cop: nia

The National Investigation Agency has cleared senior Punjab Police officer Salwinder Singh, who was being probed by it in connection with the Pathankot terror strike, after lie-detector and other tests found nothing adverse against him.

Odia man nabbed for hoax call

Sanjib Mishra, a 40-year-old man from Odisha, was on Saturday arrested for making a hoax call forcing a Bhubaneswar-Mumbai GoAir flight to make an emergency landing at Nagpur. Hours after the flight landed at Nagpur following the bomb scare, the caller was arrested in Pune.

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The New Indian Express
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