Indian government increases flight monitoring operations, orders airlines, airports to enhance security measures

BCAS has also asked the Airports Authority of India and private airport operators including GMR Airports, Adani Airport and the GVK Group to ensure all CCTV cameras are in working condition.

Amid escalating tensions with Pakistan, the central government including the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) have increased flight monitoring operations in different parts of the country after security forces detected Pakistani drones near the heavily-guarded Jammu airport on May 8.

The central government has ordered that security across all Indian airports and flights be raised to the highest level with immediate effect. As part of the heightened safety measures the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has ordered that all passengers at all airports across the country will need to undergo secondary ladder point security check (LPSC) or pre-boarding check, senior government officials in the MoCA said.

BCAS has also asked the Airports Authority of India and private airport operators including GMR Airports, Adani Airport and the GVK Group to ensure all CCTV cameras are in working condition.

"In view of the recent attack in Pahalgam and subsequent surcharged security scenario, it is necessary to enhance security measures at all the civil aviation installations like airports, airstrips, airfields, air force stations, helipads, flying schools, aviation training institutes so that no untoward incident takes place in the country. Accordingly, utmost precautions need to be taken by all the stakeholders," BCAS says in its order.

The enhanced security steps ordered by BCAS include increased surveillance; strict on-ground monitoring of for operations of microlite aircraft, aero models, para glider, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), drones; deployment of additional security guards at aircraft; thorough scrutiny of PNR, passenger and cargo manifest.

Government officials also added that air marshal will be deployed across airports in India based on the passenger traffic inflow. Government official also said that visitor entry to terminal buildings has been banned.

While many airports in various parts of the country are closed in the wake of the Operation Sindoor, senior officials from Delhi International Airport Ltd told Moneycontrol that flight operations are currently normal at the Delhi airport.

India’s security measures follow ‘Operation Sindoor’, in which the Army targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and PoK in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. The government claims a direct Pakistani link to the attack and asserts its right to defend.

Several airports across India, including the Indira Gandhi International Airport, are facing disruptions for commercial flights since May 7 following India’s missile strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

As of 1400 IST, May 8, 90 flights have been cancelled at the Delhi airport, according to a source, including 79 domestic flights and 11 international flights. As many as 150 departing flights and 90 arriving flights were delayed, according to live flight tracking website Flightradar24.

According to estimates by airlines, around 450 domestic flights were cancelled as a precautionary measure on May 8, with the government shutting down more than 20 airports across north-west India, including Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Amritsar, and Shimla.

The affected Indian airports include Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda, Halwara, Pathankot, Bhuntar, Shimla, Gaggal, Dharamsala, Kishangarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Mundra, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Kandla, Keshod, Bhuj, Gwalior and Hindon. Airports primarily used for military charters have also been included in the shutdown.

Air travel in the country has been disrupted after 27 airports across northern, western, and central India have shut down commercial flights until 0529 IST on Saturday, May 10. The operations are expected to remain constrained as a ‘Notice to Airmen’ (NOTAM) is applicable until May 10.