Anti-hijack mock drill at Kolkata airport

Kolkata, Nov 26 (IANS) A mock anti-hijacking drill was conducted on Monday at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here wherein the response time of various agencies involved in the exercise was checked, airport sources said.

The nearly hour-long exercise was conducted by creating a situation akin to a plane hijack.

"The drill was successfully conducted without causing any inconvenience to airport operations. Measures taken during any eventuality of hijacking were deliberated in a subsequent meeting," the sources said.

Later in the day, the Aerodrome Committee and Airfield Environment Management Committee (AEMC) met and discussed issues such as waste disposal and drainage systems, presence of open meat shops around the vicinity of the airport, identifying these as they are the primary cause of attracting birds around the airport.

Airport Director Atul Dikshit requested the officials concerned to maintain a suitable garbage disposal mechanism as well as proper cleaning of the drainage system in the localities surrounding Kolkata Airport to avoid any bird hit.

Hari Kishore Kusmakar, Secretary (coordination) Home Department, West Bengal, chaired both the meetings.

Apart from Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials, higher officials from central and West Bengal government, state police, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Central Industrial Security Force, National Security Guard and various Airlines were present at the Aerodrome Committee meeting.