POLICE on Friday detained a political leader for entering the domestic terminal of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport along with a pistol and 32 bullets without making any declaration. The Satkhira district ruling party leader entered the terminal in the evening to fly to Jashore on a Novoair flight. With this new one, this is the third such incident in a short period when passengers carry guns inside the airport to board on planes without declaration.
Interestingly, all the passengers who carried firearms were bound to Jashore. The prevailing condition hinted that passengers are not well informed whether they can carry firearms in domestic flights. Moreover, the security lapse in the domestic and international flights still remains as a matter of concern.
Last week, police had detained the bodyguard of a realtor at the domestic terminal of HSIA for carrying a shotgun without informing the authorities who was too scheduled to travel to Jashore from Dhaka on a Novoair flight. In another incident, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) detained a chairman of a Union Parishad on March 11 for carrying a pistol and seven bullets. The arrests came after a passenger tried to hijack a Dubai-bound Bangladesh Biman flight on February 24, using a toy pistol and a bomb-like material. The incident had raised serious questions over security arrangements at the Dhaka Airport.
The CAAB, which has appeared as the most corrupt department in the ACC investigation report, is seemed too reluctant to tighten security in the airports. Aviation experts had several times cautioned about the security loopholes. We must say, repeated security breaches might create an adverse impact on the country’s image. Following every incident, the CAAB formed a probe body though they never got success in recurring next incident.
We do urge the government to scan all the airports by the professionals to find out security loopholes and fix them within shortest possible time. The stereotype probe body would not fix the problem as it is allegedly the part of syndicate which establishes its dominance in the sector. The political leaders, VIPs, CIPs and other important persons must inform the Airport authority before boarding a plane with firearms. Otherwise, stern action must be taken against them.
