Badrul Ahsan :The government has taken a set of extra security measures to ensure international standard security at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) in the face of global aviation safety concern, CAAB sources said. Besides, the government also planned to form a Specialized Aviation Security Force along with deploying additional security personnel from Air Force, Police and Ansar to tighten the security.The security measures include, restricting entrance of companionship of passengers, checking photo ID of every passenger at the entrance of the airport, introducing explosive detector and deploying dog squad.”We are in critical situation regarding aviation security globally. I believe, we will surely maintain international standard security at our airports,” Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon said while inaugurating “Airport Emergency Exercise” on the runway of HSIA on Sunday. The Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) conducted the drill yesterday as per the requirement of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO made the emergency exercise mandatory for all international airports across the globe for at least once in two years. Replying to question regarding restricting entrance of companionship of passengers at the airport, the minister said the initiative has been taken considering the security aspect. “I know people are facing difficulties when they come to the airport for seeing off or receive their dear ones. But we have to accept this. There is no alternative,” he said.Menon said the CAAB conducts such kind of emergency exercise once in a year though the ICAO’s requirement is one in two years. “None of us wants to see air crash. But we have to be prepared to face it. This kind of emergency exercise will be conducted in the country’s other international airports soon,” he said. Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Khorshed Alam Chowdhury, CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Sanaul Huq and CAAB member (Director and Planning) Air Commodore M Mustafizur Rahman also spoke on the occasion. CAAB Chairman Sanaul Huq told The New Nation that they had taken extra security measures at HSIA not due to threat but as a part of the global aviation security concern. “It’s not that something unusual is going on in Bangladesh. The entire global aviation arena is passing through critical situation due to security threat. We have taken extra measures as part of global aviation security practice,” he said. The CAAB Chairman said the government is going to form a Specialized Aviation Security Force to ensure the airports safety as of international standard. In the meantime, the government has deployed additional 250 security personnel from Air Force, Police and Ansar to tighten the security at HISA, one of the KPIs (Key Point Installations) of the country, Huq informed. However, raising issues of security and international standard of services at airport, the United States of America and the United Kingdom in separate statements, have cautioned the Bangladesh government of halting direct flight of Bangladesh Biman to their countries.Concern authorities of the two countries also on several times expressed their concern over the present ‘frazil’ security system at HSIA. Meanwhile, during the drill, a dummy aircraft was set on fire as it was pretended to get crash landing due to technical difficulties beside the taxiway of the airport. Fire brigade and rescue team along with the medical support held the exercise to control the fire and do the rescue operation of the passengers.
