Security beefed up at Bhubaneswar Airport; passengers asked for early check-ins

Bhubaneswar: Security in and around the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here has been tightened after all airports across the country were alerted by the Centre following scrapping of Article 370.

The move came after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) yesterday issued an advisory revising and tightening security norms to be followed at all Indian airports.

The BPIA airport authorities said more number of armed security personnel have been deployed in and around the airport. A three-layer security checking is being carried out inside and outside the airport terminals.

“The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and security norms have been tightened further at the airport. Security personnel have been deployed at runways, checking area, terminal premises and parking zones for round-the-clock surveillance. Passengers are being strictly checked at the entry points,” said an official.

Total 111 CCTV cameras have been installed, including 67 at the Domestic Terminal and 44 at Terminal 2 to keep a close eye on any kind of suspicious activities.

“An alarm will be automatically raised if any suspicious object is found lying inside the terminal for over 15 minutes without any possessor. Passengers have been advised to do early check-ins to get their boarding passes,”the official added.

The SOP will remain in force till further order by the Centre.