By IANS
New Delhi : Passengers at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here were taken by surprise Monday when authorities issued an alarm that a flight has been hijacked, and security personnel came rushing in. It happily turned out to be a snap security drill.
The air traffic control issued an alert at around 10.30 a.m. that one East Air plane carrying 155 passengers from Delhi to Kolkata had been hijacked.
"The police rushed to the spot, security officials took positions, sniffer dogs were called in, and fire engines were rushed too. This was part of a dummy drill to check the preparedness of the airport, police, fire, security and other apparatus," said an airport official.
"The operation was successfully carried out, and we want to say that there is no such carrier as East Air. The air traffic movement was normal," he added.
The drill lasted for almost an hour.
"All the people involved in the drill were not aware that it was a dummy exercise, and we did not divulge it to anyone. The aim was to create a real life situation," the official clarified.