Passengers taking flights from major international airports in the country can brace themselves for extensive security checks and long queues. After the alert for New Year, citing terrorist activity, airports will again be on alert from January 15 to 31. Though officials said the alert was general and had been sounded in the wake of Republic Day, security checks will be heightened. 

As per instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), cabin baggage will be manually checked before the security stamp is put. Airlines have been instructed to conduct secondary ladder point checks for all destinations. “Though airlines do check passengers before they enter the aircraft, it is restricted to sensitive destinations like Srinagar, Kathmandu, and the United States and United Kingdom. However, due to the high alert, airlines have been instructed to conduct the checks as often as they can, as the threat component during the alert time is very high,” said a senior official at the Delhi airport. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) had also been instructed to conduct pat-down checks on passengers whose movements seem suspicious. 

“We have been in a state of high alert all these days. We are all prepared to deal with another. The alert is because of the approaching Republic Day, but will remain till the month-end. It is one of the most serious alerts for the airport and appropriate measures have been taken to plug loopholes, if any,” said a senior commandant, CISF, Mumbai. 

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