Vasco: Central agencies spent over Rs 350 crore to create new infrastructure facilities at Dabolim International Airport. Their aim was to improve the handling capacity of loads from the international and domestic sector. Meanwhile, the idea of ensuring foolproof security has somewhere gone missing.
Today, a terrorist or hijacker can gain easy access right up to the second floor of the terminal building with any airline ticket in hand; one need not have to go through security screenings until the second floor, where the hand luggage gets checked only at a security check in area before one boards into the aircraft. This is a grave security lapse.
Even police officials endorse that having luggage checked on the second floor is pointless. “What is the point of checking the passenger or his luggage on the second floor? This appears to be a formality to safeguard only the aircraft, but what about the aerodrome? From the threat point of view, anyone can easily gain access and can cause destruction in the aerodrome and also to the aircraft,” said Dabolim airport Police Inspector Brutano Peixeto.
All these loopholes can lead to a disaster because the Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials are yet to install a Door Frame Metal Detector machine (DFMD) at both departure gates of the terminal building. The proposal made by the CISF for the same is yet to see the light of day.
“It is really serious; this shows that the security at the airport is not foolproof, but has several loopholes. Moreover, the security at the old airport was much better than the security at the new airport” said a senior police official who did not want to be named.
However, Deputy Commandant of CISF (Goa airport) Shankar Rao feels the other way. He stated, “Dabolim airport today is equipped with modern gadgets, besides a strong force of CISF personnel, who manage security round-the-clock. We have an exclusive bomb detective and disposal unit with modern gadgets, plus there are separate intelligence teams formed especially to move around and collect inputs outside as well as inside the airport. If the DMFD was in place, then providing security would have been much better. But the same has to be provided by the AAI.”
The state authorities have claimed that security at the new airport has been beefed up, but the ground reality is the opposite. Two years have passed since the new airport building was inaugurated (December 3, 2013), but the DMFD is yet to see the light of day.
From a layperson’s point of view, the airport seems to be under a heavy cloak of security, but a closer look will reveal that the airport, which is one of the most sensitive airports in the country, is at high risk because of an alarmingly lax approach to security at various points.
No doubt, the airport is guarded by a strong force of 380 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, but it is a fact – acknowledged by CISF officials – that the profiling experts with CISF do random frisking of around 25 percent of passengers and their baggage while entering the airport terminal building, while 75 percent of passengers enter unchecked.
Herald made efforts to understand other loopholes that expose the airport to high risk. It was surprising to note that security at the old airport was much better than the new airport due to various reasons. Aviation industry experts claimed that earlier, even all vehicles entering the old airport building used to get checked by CISF personnel, but there is no such arrangement at the new airport entrance, except for some staff deployed by the parking contractor to issue slips to vehicles. Vehicles with dangerous objects can go close to departure and arrival gate and exit the premises without being checked at any point.
Similarly, one can find armed CISF personnel at all four entrances and exists and in two bunkers: one near the departure gate and another near the arrival gate. But the bunker near the arrival gate has issues with regards to visibility; the same is partially blocked by kiosks permitted by AAI.
“Yes, the kiosk is somewhat blocking our view and the issue was also raised before the AAI, asking it to shift the same, but action is yet to be taken,” said a CISF personnel.
Another place where one can barely find CISF personnel is the site where the extension of the terminal is taking place. Although there are metal sheets to prevent anyone from entering the tarmac side of the airport, one has to still consider the fact that two years back, a person had gained access to the tarmac through the same area. He was caught by the CISF while he was clicking pictures of the aircraft close to runway.
When contacted, South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar, who is also the chairman of the airport advisory committee, raised his concerns over the lack of DMFDs at the airport as well as the other issues pointed out by Herald. He assured that he would discuss the issue with the AAI and Central agencies.
Efforts to contact the AAI Director for his views on the security at Dabolim airport were futile.
