Heightened security at Mumbai airport after terror threat

Mumbai, Sep 25 (PTI) The western Indian city Mumbai
international airport was Sunday put under heightened security
alert following inputs from central intelligence agencies
about a possible airborne attack on the country's busiest
airport.
The alert was issued from New Delhi, sources said.
Without identifying any terror group that could possibly
strike at the Mumbai airport, the Intelligence Bureau report
said it could be like a 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre.
However, when contacted, a senior official of the Air
Intelligence Unit at the Mumbai airport, as well the Sahar
Police, under whose jurisdiction the airport falls, said they
had not received any fresh intelligence inputs from the IB
since Friday.
Earlier this month, the IB had warned that a small plane
could be used to carry out an airborne terror attack on the
Mumbai airport, following which, security was beefed up at the
airport.
A spokesperson of the Mumbai airport said, "To check the
preparedness of the all the security wings of the airport,
there was a mock terminal evacuation drill between 1335 hrs
and 1410 hrs at the busiest airport today."
"During the drill, domestic terminals 1A and 1C were
successfully evacuated within the given time," she said adding
that the airport regularly conducts such mock drills.
Meanwhile, security agencies have alerted that a private
aircraft from the Hubli airport in Karnataka could be used to
carry out an attack on the Mumbai airport. The fear of such an
attack remains till November 15.
According to the guidelines issued in the alert, access
control and security arrangements at the Kalina VIP gate and
other gates leading to terminal areas as well as parking bays,
should be re-assessed and secured.
Following this, security has been tightened at the
airport, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials
said.
The alert also reportedly said that any permission to use
a private aircraft from Hubli to Mumbai should be denied,
unless the bona fides are well-established.
The IB alert gave three possibilities for the attack on
Mumbai airport. The first possible option is that a private
aircraft may hit the main terminal building. Secondly,
terrorists may gain entry through the Kalina VIP gate and a
private aircraft may be taken over from the airport, which
could be taken off and returned shortly to direct strike on
the terminal building.
Third possibility is that a truck could be packed with
explosives driving through the Kalina gate and ramming into
the terminal building.
The IB report further warns that the nearby Juhu airstrip
should also be put under surveillance and ensure that
helicopters or small planes would not take off from the
seaside airstrip, which is under the control of the Airports
Authority.