Entry for visitors barred at airport
Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, January 20
Ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, the entry of visitors, except passengers, at the Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport (SGRJIA), has been banned with immediate effect.
Airport director Manoj Chansoria said, as per the alert issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation (BCA) Director General, sale of entry tickets for visitors was stopped. Even movement of vehicles has been restricted while CISF has deployed more combatants.
Security was beefed up in and around the airport and all passengers were informed to reach the airport well before their scheduled flight time as they were to go through more security checks, which will consume more time, he advised.
Paid entry to the departure lounge has been banned. Passengers have been barred from entering departure lounge to see off their relatives.
He stated that standard operating procedure had been placed in totality and even entry of vehicles had been restricted. Vehicles engaged in pick and drop service cannot remain in the airport and no vehicle can arrive at the airport’s terminal building, he said.
Besides, a space away from the airport building has been earmarked for parking purpose. He added that everything is under watch. Many other security measures were also initiated in this regard.
The Punjab Police has also beefed up security on the approach road connecting the airport to the city.
Earlier, strategically located Amritsar airport had been used as a halt for hijacking by Islamic and Sikh terrorists in the past.
It may be recalled that Indian Airlines Flight 814, popularly known as IC-814, hijacked from Kathmandu by the terrorists of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen in 1999, was halted at the local airport for re-fuelling.
