No clues yet on how firecracker ended up in aircraft

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is yet to find a clue on how a packet containing a firecracker made its way into a Kingfisher aircraft on Sunday.

A firecracker wrapped in a newspaper was found in the Kingfisher flight, which originated from the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), after it reached Thiruvananthapuram.

A team of officials from the BCAS, New Delhi, arrived at the BIA at Devanahalli near here on Monday to investigate the incident, which has raised concerns about aviation safety and security. Sources in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides airside security at airports, told

The Hindu that investigations by the BCAS were on and officials were yet to find a clue that could lead them to the culprit.

Incidentally, passengers and their baggage are allowed inside the terminal building at the BIA without any screening. There are no door-frame metal detectors at the four departure gates at the terminal building at the BIA. The CISF personnel who man the departure gates do not screen/frisk passengers and their baggage. Anyone possessing an air ticket, domestic or international, can enter the terminal building along with the baggage without any security checks.

Security checks were being conducted only on the first floor of the terminal building after passengers collected boarding passes from the counters of the respective airlines on the ground floor, the sources said. The BIA follows the central area security plan which does not provide for screening passengers and baggage at the departure gates.