By IANS,
Chennai : Chennai International Airport, one of the major airports in the country, Thursday heightened security following a terror strike alert, officials said.
Heavily armed Central Industrial Security Force personnel were guarding the parking lot, entry and periphery from bunkers and watch-towers, while local policemen manned the gates, nearby flyovers and surrounding areas, S.K. Murthy, an official of a foreign airline told IANS.
“For good measure, Rapid Action Force commandos are guarding the runway,” he added.
Civil Aviation Secretary Madhavan Nambiar said in Delhi Thursday evening that “all necessary steps” were being taken to ensure security at all airports in the country.
“I urge the media to maintain restraint while reporting as passengers are getting panicky because of the information appearing in news channels regarding terror threats to airports,” he told reporters.
It is feared that the Deccan Mujahideen, a hitherto unknown terror outfit that claimed responsibility of the Mumbai attacks last week, would execute the air attacks on the airports as well.
A security official in Chennai, insisting on anonymity, told IANS that they were taking the threat seriously.