Indian Aviation Security: A Complex Web Of Threats & Responses
2 Sep 2024
India is set to become the third-largest aviation market in the world by 2024, with plans to operate 220 airports, the need for a seamless security setup is paramount
Brigadier Rajan Oberoi, Global Vice Chairman of Tenon Group, recently provided an insightful overview of the challenges and responses characterising aviation security in India. He emphasised that Indian aviation had a reasonably good safety record until 1971 when the first significant incident occurred, marking the beginning of a series of hijackings that highlighted vulnerabilities in the aviation sector.
On 30 January 1971, a domestic passenger flight en route from Srinagar to Jammu was hijacked and flown to Lahore. Although the passengers and crew were released, the plane was subsequently destroyed. This incident was the first of many, as Brigadier Oberoi noted, “There were 13 other hijackings in India over this period, involving Indian foreign militants and terrorists affiliated with insurgencies in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.”
