Chennai airport: ‘Passengers must come in advance’

In light of Operation Sindoor and following an order from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, heightened security measures are in place at Chennai airport.

As a result, air passengers have been advised to reach the terminal three hours before departure.

Also, the check-in counters will be closed 75 minutes ahead of departure.

Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said security has been heavily stepped up at the airport, and passengers will be subjected to a secondary layer point check before boarding.

In the past few days, some flights from the city to destinations like Chandigarh and Hindon, which have airspace restrictions, have been cancelled.

“Additional manpower has been put in place across the entire premises. We continuously monitor the security checks and CCTV cameras in all the terminals. This aside, the airport’s perimeter is also being watched round the clock,” a source said.

Meanwhile, the Airport Emergency Preparedness Drill was held on Thursday at the airport.

According to a press release, this coordination meeting with the stakeholders was conducted to assess the airport’s emergency operational plan.

“The exercise involved multiple agencies, including State Police, NDRF, State Fire Brigade, Airlines, Ground handling agencies, Hospitals, Ambulance services, along with CISF and AAI,” the release said.