After the triple suicide bombing and gun attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport killed 32 people on Tuesday evening, security at Indian airports has also been put on high alert.

Sources told BusinessLine that the Airport Security Committee, which is headed by the Airport Director and has high level representation from the Central Industrial Security Force and State Police and all airlines, goes into an immediate huddle to ensure safety and security of the airport.

Security at Indian airports is largely the responsibility of the Central Industrial Security Force and airline security staff which follow the orders laid down by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

To ensure that an Istanbul or Brussels type of attack does not occur here, airports across the country are enhancing the frequency of patrols that the Quick Response Teams carry out in airport perimeter areas. Also more number of passengers are being subjected to Secondary Point Ladder Check (SPLC) which is carried out just before boarding a commercial aircraft at airports termed extra sensitive such as Srinagar and Leh.

After a terror attack, the number of passengers subjected to SLPC increases to close to 30 per cent, a three-fold increase from normal times, a person connected with airport security said.

While those connected with security at airports in India were not willing to talk on the record on the steps taken at Indian airports, a cross section of people that BusinessLine spoke to said that several other steps too had been put in to place like having special dustbins at Delhi airport each costing ₹1,00,000 which are strong enough to withstand a bomb blast to having ‘tyre killers’ on the roads leading out from the airport to prevent any miscreant from escaping.

Besides, Hydraulic Bollards, which are small heavy iron pillars capable of withstanding an explosion, have also been installed at many airports entrance to prevent terrorists from driving their vehicles into the airport terminal.

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