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Our Bureau

Chennai, Dec. 2 What is the connection between a handful of chewing gum and airport security? If the chewing gum will go undetected by the x-ray machine at the airport so will 2 gm pellets of semtex, the plastic explosive.

Just 2 gm of semtex is enough to blow up a Boeing 747 aircraft, said Captain Ranganathan, a former pilot and aircraft safety expert, as he catalogued the parlous state of security at the country’s airports.

He was speaking at a panel discussion on “Whither civil aviation” organised by the Air Passengers Association of India here. Pointing to the laxity of the arrangements, he said that while only five categories of people, such as the President of India and the Prime Minister, were exempt from security checks in the 1980s, the list has now expanded manifold. “We have secretaries of Ministers checking in for their bosses,” he said.

Aircraft safety had also taken a back seat, he said pointing to the fact that there were 14 air accidents, including eight serious ones, and 979 aircraft safety-related accidents, in 2007-08. Maintenance of runways was still being done with primitive implements.

For instance, the excess rubber left by landing aircraft tyres was being removed with equipment better suited to polishing mosaic floors, he said.

Rubber left sticking to the runways is a hazard, especially during rains, as it impairs the braking of landing aircraft.

Others who spoke were Mr Manikam Ramaswamy, Chairman, Loyal Textiles Group, Ms Vasuki Kalyanasundaram, Chairperson, Western Region, Travel Agents Federation of India, Mr N.L.Rajah, Trustee, Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group, and Mr D. Sudhakar Reddy, President, Air Passengers Association of India.

More Stories on : Security | Terrorism | Airlines | Tamil Nadu

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