Passenger info system at Bangalore airport
The Bangalore International Airport is among the six international airports in India where an advance passenger information system (APIS), giving details of passengers to the port of destination of an aircraft within minutes of its take-off from its source port, has been introduced.
The other airports are Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderbad, Chennai and Cochin. The APIS, key to attaining foolproof security, will be introduced in all the 26 international airports in India by 2012. According to Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the APIS is expected to be implemented in a centralised mode during the next financial year.
Under the APIS, airline operators have to furnish passenger information in the prescribed format to the immigration authorities at the destination airports. Non-compliance with the APIS will attract provisions under the Foreigners Act, 1946. The APIS has been implemented by a January 24, 2008, notification.
Swift detection
The advance details of air passengers facilitated swift detection of “suspected elements”, said senior officials in Central Industrial Security Force, which guards all major airports in the country. The APIS could help sift and figure-out travel of terror-operatives like David Headley to India, they said.
The Lashkar-e-Toiba terror man had flown in and out of India without arousing any suspicion, said ministry sources. A key masterminds behind the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, Headley’s had travelled to India under a fake identity even after 26/11 terror strikes.
The APIS might also help to uncover such cases of fake identifies, government officials said.
Under the APIS, all airline operators flying into India are to provide passengers information electronically. The info is given to the Indian immigration authorities within 15 minutes of the takeoff of the plane from the port of source outside the country.
The infrastructure regarding this is being put up by the NIC.
The provision also makes it mandatory for the airline, landing in India, to provide information of not only the passengers but also crew members on board.
