Airport security personnel to undergo special training

With the emergence of new kinds of threats to aviation security, all personnel involved in ensuring safety of aircraft and airports across the country will undergo special training from next month.

With the emergence of new kinds of threats to aviation security, all personnel involved in ensuring safety of aircraft and airports across the country will undergo special training from next month.

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The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) would impart training in batches on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and bomb threat contingency plan to security personnel deployed by airport operators, airlines, air traffic controllers and forces like the CISF, official sources said in New Delhi.

As those planning attacks are adopting innovative methods to carry out strikes, the security procedures will have to be adjusted accordingly, the sources said.

The screening of shoes was introduced only after British-born Richard Reid attempted to blow up a plane in December 2001 carrying plastic explosives packed in his shoes. Likewise, when explosives were found concealed in linings of the underwear of a terror suspect, it prompted the introduction of full-body scanners.

The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad of the BCAS would be holding day-long courses for the personnel on a rotational basis in two or three phases at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, they said.

The refresher courses would start from March and go on till December in different phases covering all sections of concerned security staffers.