The Cochin international airport remains on high alert following an anonymous phone call threatening suicide bomb blasts on a couple of Air India flights.
The caller threatened suicide bomb blasts on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight scheduled for Friday midnight and the Mumbai-Kochi flight scheduled early Saturday.
The call was received at the regional office of the Airports Authority of India at Kolkata on Thursday and was passed on to the Kochi airport.
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Security arrangements at the airport were tightened on the directions of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in the wake of the threat.
Ahmedabad and Mumbai airports have also been put on high alert.
“Air India flight on the midnight of October 24 (early morning of October 25) from Ahmedabad to Mumbai and early morning flight from Mumbai to Kochi on 25th morning at 0500 hrs. Suicide bomber in each flight separately. Please check thoroughly. Secondary security checks may be carried out at Ahmedabad and Mumbai airports for all flights around the concerned dates,” a letter received by the airport from the BCAS read.
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A high-level meeting attended by security experts was held to review the security. The meeting, chaired by airport director A.C.K. Nair, was held in the presence of Anand Mohan, DIG, Chennai Region, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
As soon as the threat was received, the bomb detection and disposal squad and quick response teams were deployed in and around the airport. Vehicles were allowed access to the terminal region only after passing through a security check using metal detectors at the entry points.
An effective system in coordination with multiple agencies, including the State police, CISF, airline security, and intelligence agencies, has been put in place. Surveillance along the terminal and peripheral regions of the airport stands augmented.
Secondary security checks will be carried out by the police outside the terminal and CISF personnel inside the terminal. There will be increased passenger checks and tightening of access control, and anti-hijacking units will be put on alert.
Baggage screeningBaggage, including registered and hand baggage, will be subjected to thorough checks, and cargo consignments too.
The heightened security arrangements are likely to continue for the next couple of days before being reviewed on Monday, Mr. Nair said.
Cochin International Airport Ltd. chief security officer P. Gaurisankar and CISF senior commandant Shishir Kumar Gupta attended the meeting.