Air travel: how safe?

Hijacking incidents show the absolute lack of security at airports, as demonstrated in the U.S. recently. NARENDRA L. GUPTA examines aviation security.

ITis accepted that the hijacking of an airliner is, in the long term, a failure of the intelligence organisation that has not been able to forsee what the "bad guys" had been planning and to nip the plan in the bud. In the short term, it is nothing but the lack of adequate security precautions at the time of emplaning passengers and baggage, and also the inadequate in-flight steps that should be in place.

In the United States, till Black Tuesday, security checks on boarding passengers were minimal. It was only to the extent of x- raying baggage and checking a traveller for identification before allowing him or her to board the flight. No wonder four planes could be taken over so easily.

Aviation security is a shared responsibility amongst the agencies involved, i.e., the airlines, the Airport Authority, the Central Industrial Security Force (if the airport security is being looked after by them), the State police and the intelligence organisations such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

In the light of their considerable experience in regard to hijacking, the most stringent checks are carried out on Israeli passenger flights. Security on their national carrier, El Al, commences well before take-off. Every passsenger is checked through the Interpol database for any criminal record. Plainclothes security guards patrol the airport in Israel and El Al terminals overseas. All passengers are questioned and the contents of their luggage are minutely examined. Hi-tech explosive detection equipment is then used to check all baggage. All EI AI flights have armed undercover guards seated on the plane. And lastly, if all these measures fail, the hijacker cannot enter the cockpit as its door is locked from inside as soon as the flight crew enters the flight deck.

In India, particularly after the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC814 which took off from Kathmandu, Nepal, the checks are quite thorough. After checking-in, hand baggage and checked-in baggage is x-rayed and sometimes examined physically also. The passenger also undergoes a body search in addition to having to pass through a metal detector. The checked-in baggage has to be identified by the passenger before it is loaded onto the aeroplane to ensure that only bonafide passenger luggage is put on board. Before passengers are finally allowed on board, there is one more check of hand baggage and one more body search. However, the positioning of sky marshalls or airborne undercover security guards on Indian Airlines flights is only selective and has yet to be done on other Indian carriers such as Jet Airways and Air Sahara.

It may be a cause for concern that skyjackers may have accomplices among the ground staff of an airline or airport who may be able to place on board weapons for the terrorist to use. Also, one cannot be sure if thorough checks are carried out on the cargo loaded on freight carriers.

The writer, a retired Air Vice Marshal , is with the Institute of Defence Studies, New Delhi.

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