The New Killing Fields (IGI Airport Delhi)

Woman techie found dead at IGI Airport.
24 Oct 2007, 0329 hrs IST,TNN

NEW DELHI: A 29-year-old senior technician with Air Deccan was found dead, in mysterious circumstances, on a taxiway at the domestic airport here on Monday night. The police and airport authorities appeared foxed as the family members of the victim, Sansruti Sinha, suggested that it could be murder. The theory was ruled out eventually. The post mortem report said it appeared to be a case of "vehicular accident".

Sansruti, who was to get married soon, was spotted lying in a pool of blood at the airport's E taxiway around 10pm by a SpiceJet pilot. The pilot immediately informed the Air Traffic Control. The aiport manager was alerted. He called up the police at 10.10pm. Sansruti's head was badly crushed and there were severe injuries on other parts of her body.

The police say it seems to be a case of hit-and-run. Strange as it may seem, nobody saw Sansruti being hit by any vehicle. She was found lying on the edge of the taxiway. After talking to the Air Deccan staff, the police came to the conclusion that she was walking towards the hangar to examine an Air Deccan aircraft when she was hit by an unidentified vehicle.

Sansruti's wrist-watch had stopped functioning and showed 9.55pm when the cops examined her body. The police said it was due to the ‘impact' and that it proved there was no delay in informing the cops about the incident as had been suggested earlier.

The body was sent to the Safdarjung Hospital for autopsy and Sansruti's maternal uncle, who lives in Faridabad, was informed. The victim's parents live in Patna. The police have registered a case under IPC sections 279 (rash and negligent driving), 304A (causing death by negligence) and 201 (destruction of evidence). "We are not ruling out anything, but going by the nature of injuries and spot examination, it does seem that she was hit by a vehicle," said joint commissioner of police (operations) Aditya Arya.

he autopsy report also stated that it seemed to be a vehicular accident. It mentioned severe injuries on the skull and multiple fractures in the ribs.

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The ramp,air side as we call it is the most dangerous place at the airport, it is safer to walk on Delhi roads than on air side at IGI Airport.

The fog season is approaching and it is a daily tryst with death which all airlines employees take when they go to air side to to handle flights, only one of the reputed carrier gives its staff vehicles to move around the rest of us have to walk through "ZERO VISIBILITY" to reach the parking bays.This is not the first death on the air side some time back,a security staff of a airline was killed when he was guarding a aircraft , he was run over by a bus and died on the spot and that brought the AAI to enforce the safety jacket rule.

In another case the vehicle belonging to a LCC at early morning rammed in a jeep and was smashed to smithereens the driver was driving over 90 kmh on the taxi way, the same driver was famous for rash driving at the airport and was involved in many accidents and still he was given an ADP( airport driving permit)

There are fixed speed limits on the air side but most of the drivers don't follow these limits, the reason is that most of the drivers and in some cases all the drivers of the airlines are out sourced, they come from local agencies who make it to airport handling business by greasing palms all the way, in some cases the drivers don't even know how to drive a bus as they have never driven a heavy vehicle and some of them use the air side as a place where they learn how to drive.Accident are a common thing at IGI airport as drivers don't keep in speed limits as they are under pressure to move fast from one aircraft to another, they are untrained and caution is thrown to the wind.

Air Deccan started the out sourcing bug and to cut costs they picked staff of the lowest possible denominator so that costs are kept as low as possible, it is simple you don't pay well you don't get quality staff. It is always the man behind the machine who makes the difference not the machine. I don't think the LCC will agree to that for them.


The vehicle which hit the the Technician can not leave the airport , it would be parked at the airport, it is for the police to find that,if they want to.The DP test conducted by the AAI is a joke and any one can get an ADP, in some cases people have been driving with expired ADP and there is no one to check them.

As it is said airport is a place where many things happen in broad day light and in the silence of the dark night and they get buried deep there and then.

Low Cost Airlines- A Risk to the Aviation.....

By Manju.V--TNN
Times of India.


Despite threat, airlines not spending enough on security

Your favourite airline may have gourmet fare on its menu. It may have the best check-in facilities, a well-appointed lounge, efficient cabin crew, good on-time performance and the best airfares the season can bring.

But, what no single airlines in India has is a reliable security network. Despite airlines being top terror targets and despite repeated warnings from Indian security agencies, airlines continue to cut costs on security bills with impunity.

What is amazing is that the amount spent on security comes to only about 0.75% to 1% of the total operating costs or about $70 (around Rs 2,900) a flight. This is the case with all airlines in India," a highly placed airline security official said. "But it does not make any sense to cut corners like this. The expenditure on security will go up to only $100 a flight (a little less than Rs 4100) if the minimum security measures recommended by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) are followed," he added.

Peeved by the airlines' lackadaisical handling of the matter, the BCAS called a meeting of aviation industries' top bosses in May this year and issued a circular stating that the recommendations should be "strictly implemented".

The circular, a copy of which is with TOI, says: "No action has been taken by (the) airlines to implement the committee's recommendations till date. It is, therefore, imperative that the following instructions are strictly implemented by (the) airlines with immediate effect.

That was in May. But nothing has changed despite the UK-terror expose and the numerous security threats to flying. None of the airlines is in a mood to spend that extra $ 25.

And, it's not about X-ray machines or passenger-frisking. The violations cover high-risk areas. Airlines, for instance, do not have even a single security personnel to guard the idle Boeings and Airbuses; they do not have any one posted in the area where check-in baggage is segregated for different destinations; pre-flight, anti-sabotage checks are hardly carried out in accordance with the details in the security manuals.

Time-saving measures adopted by the airlines mean they completely do away with a certificate of security that should be given to a commander when the aircraft is being handed over to him.

This certificate should be signed by the engineering department (it certifies that anti-sabotage measures have been carried out according to the inspection schedule); the catering department (it certifies that catering items have been checked and the crew received them without complaints); the ground support department (it certifies that
equipment attached to aircraft have been checked and only seal-ed/security cleared baggage has been loaded on board); the commercial department (it certifies that all baggage and cargo have been checked); and the security department (it certifies that all the above have been carried out).

"Only commanders of Air India, Indian Airlines get a certificate from the commercial department, accounting only for the security of baggage, passenger and cargo. The rest don't even get that," a BCAS official based in Delhi said.

The security recommendations were made in the R P Singh Committee's report dated June 2001.

The civil aviation ministry had constituted this committee to fix norms for deployment of airlines security staff.

Representatives from airlines like Jet Airways, Indian Airlines and Air India were present on this committee.

The BCAS had called for the implementation of the committee's recommendations by September 2005 but nothing happened.

The recommendations are based on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)'s guidelines, which means airlines in other countries like the United States and the United Kingdom follow them religiously.


VT
What ever said but it is difficult to believe that the Low Cost Airlines will follow what is told to them by the regulatory body.The top management for there own financial benefits risk the lives of thousand of passenger's every year.
VT

VT on security

Dummies Guide to IGI Delhi Airport India

Dummies Guide to DELHI Airport

This is a Dummies guide to Airports in India.

Airports are cities in them self and people are can get lost in them, they are like 7 star hotels with every thing thrown in them, I can not say the same about airports in India. I am writing this for people who will come to India so that they have a knowledge of the airports before hand.

Most of the Indian airports are vintage the Delhi airport from where the Private airlines depart is a vintage WW-2 era airport , Delhi is getting a new airport and work is going on at a killing speed the government has asked a private consortium GMR-FRAPO to make this airport and it will be the best in Asia and far east, till then we all have to make do with what we have a patched up airport with basic amenities. The IGI domestic airport is divided in three parts.

Terminal -1-A Departure: All domestic flights of the Indian national carrier now known as INDIAN (earlier known as Indian Airlines) and Kingfisher Airlines fly from here, so remember when you book a flight by Indian or King Fisher then go to Terminal- 1A- IGI Domestic Airport.

This a relatively a well organized and a very small departure terminal , this building was build when the old terminal caught fire, it is small so , has got a small parking, it has a ATM inside (only one) and has coffee shops and a business class lounge inside.

Both Indian and King Fisher have ticket and information window’s before you enter inside the terminal. Immediately after entry you will see the X-RAY machines, show your ticket and get your baggage X-RAYD make sure you get it strapped and they put a security clear sticker on it.Then get your boarding card and head for the security hold area, once inside relax and enjoy (Alcohol is not served on any flight in India however you can have a drink at the (King Fisher lounge J )

Terminal-1 B Departure: This is the vintage WW-2 departure terminal where a lot of patch work has been done and if you are looking for some peace of mind forget it when you come here it is a battle and you have to win it, this terminal has all the private airlines departures like Jet airways, Jet Lite, Deccan airways, Spice jet, MDLR airlines and Go air and Indigo. Apart from Jet airways all are Low Cost Carriers, it is a royal mess on a day when flights are delayed or late or canceled due to fog, which is just at the corner.

This is the most crowded terminal, you will see long lines (during rush hours) to get inside and once inside then another line to get your baggage X-RAYED and then a line at the counter, it can drive you mad, so have an I-POD or a book to maintain your sanity or you will go mad.

The moment you get down from your cab look a little up and you will boards hanging from the top where you will see the names of the airlines and the gate numbers, so head for the gate show your passport and ticket and head for the airline controlled X-RAY , get your baggage strapped and make sure the security check sticker is put on your bag.

REMEMBER DO NOT KEEP ANY KIND OF CASH, JEWELRY, IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS or VALUABLES IN YOUR CHECKED BAGGAGE, in case of loss the airline don’t take any kind of responsibility for it.

Head for the counter and get your boarding card don't forget to get your hand baggage tags, now the problem starts the lines for security check are quite long and when you reach there make sure you take what ever you are carrying in your hand baggage and your cell phone on a tray to be x-rayed, then head for the frisking booth ( ladies are frisked separately) get your boarding card stamped and your hand baggage tag’s stamped by the A.P.S.U. (airport security unit) Remember you don’t have a stamp on your boarding card or hand baggage tag, you will not be allowed to board.

It is a very small security hold area so first grab some thing to eat and then grab a seat and wait for your boarding call.

Departing from Delhi’s terminal 1B can be an experience of a life time. Be at the airport 3 hours before the departure and be prepared to wait for delayed departures as winters are approaching “ fog station” will be declared in some time….

Before I close this beware of touts when you get down at terminal-1B, there is no charge for trolleys don’t let any one hold the trolley for you or take it till the gate... these guys are touts, look out any airline staff to guide you.

When you face the terminal building the Airport Managers office will be on your left just after the Nescafe coffee booth. (there will be a duty airport manager there, if you have a complain or are facing a problem they will help you out)

Any question then leave comments and I will reply back .…. Here's wishing you a happy landing….

Note:Please don't follow the dummies guide word by word, this is as real as it gets, as the airport is under construction,actual places may change and for that please don't hold me responsible.

VT on security