At Tribhuvan, there's no security check for transit passengers

At Tribhuvan, there's no security check for transit passengers
SWATI CHATURVEDI

NEW DELHI, MARCH 19: A report of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), now being studied by the Cabinet Committee of Security Affairs (CCSA), has expressed grave doubts about the security set-up at Nepal's Tribhuvan airport.

The report blames the authorities there for not taking remedial measures, despite the Indian Airlines hijacking. The CCSA is to decide on resumption of Indian Airlines flights to Kathmandu.

The BCAS report, available with The Indian Express, has made the alarming observation that in a virtual replay of the modus operandi adopted by IC-814's hijackers, the team noticed a passenger of Thai Airways flight TG-320 entering the departure walkway directly from the VIP lounge without undergoing any pre-embarkation security check.

The report compiled by a six-member team led by Additional Commissioner P T Lohar of the BCAS is currently being studied by the CCSA which will take a final decision of the resumption of IA flights to Nepal.

``The identification of Indian/Nepali citizens is barely being done on the basis of some identification documents which are not reliable and are easy to duplicate,'' observes the expert team of the BCAS which visited Tribhuvan airport immediately after the hijack.

The BCAS team has identified ``gaping holes in security'' which could lead to similar mishaps as authorities in Kathmandu airport seem to have learnt no lessons from the Kandahar episode.

The report is categorical that ``immigration authorities are not maintaining stop lists. The disembarkation/embarkation cards do not bear any serial numbers and are not being matched.'' The report also points out that recording of immigration data is not being done on-line.

The report says that one out of the two X-ray machines installed in the departure area for screening of registered baggage is used. ``No surveillance over the passengers is kept while in the check-in area. They step behind the check-in counters and handle their own baggage,'' says the report. The team discovered that hand-held metal detectors (HHMD) are rarely used for screening passengers.

The report states that even after the hijack of IC-814, guarding of aircraft is not done and transit passengers are not subjected to pre-embarkation security checks. It points out that most of the police personnel detailed on airport security duties are not trained in aviation security. ``The strength of the airport security police is short of 290 personnel,'' the report says.

The team found that construction activities are in progress at Tribhuvan airport: ``People and material entering the construction area are not being subjected to effective security checks.''