Vehicles to be checked 1 km away from Mumbai, other airports

Apprehending aviation-related terror incidents as all airports in the country have emerged as "soft targets" post scrapping of Article 370, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has issued stringent security protocols to prevent any untoward incidents, official sources said here on Wednesday.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), responsible for security at all Indian airports, has sent out a detailed advisory revising and tightening the security norms to be followed, particularly airports in metropolitan cities like Mumbai.

Since the possibility of such "unlawful interference" is more from the city side of the airport premises and terminals, all approaching vehicles will be subject to an intensive random security check at least one km away from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and all other airports in the country.

The Mumbai and state police have been directed to set up such vehicle check points at a sufficient distance away from the CSMIA with enough manpower and equipment on a 24/7 basis with immediate effect, as per the BCAS directives.

At least 10 percent of all vehicles approaching CSMIA shall be randomly checked thoroughly, till August 31, or further orders. IANS