If you have money power break rules & security. Vijay Mallya's IPL team may be on top in the ongoing Twenty20 tournament, but the Kingfisher Airlines chairman is bogged down by controversies over airport security breaches. The other day, a crude bomb was found in the cargo section of a Kingfisher flight in Thiruvananthapuram. Now, Mallya himself has allegedly violated security rules at the Delhi airport.
The UB Group chairman skipped the security check at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Saturday. After attending a function at Ghaziabad, he took a chopper to the airport, landed at the tarmac and flew off in his private jet.
He was reportedly in a hurry to reach Mumbai to watch his IPL team Royal Challengers' match. So, he requested the security agencies to allow him to take the chopper to the tarmac so that he could shift to his jet and avoid going to the terminal for security check- in. "Mallya came to Delhi by VT- VJM, his corporate jet, and took a chopper to reach the Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad, for its convocation. After awarding degrees to the students, he returned to the airport by the same chopper. Kingfisher officials arranged the transit of their boss from the chopper to his jet," a source said.
According to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) guidelines, the transit of any passenger, even a VIP, is not allowed without security check. "Even if he was travelling by his private jet, he should have followed the rules. The airline arranged his boarding pass and he left without security check," the source added.
Despite repeated attempts, Kingfisher officials could not be contacted. An email sent to them on Wednesday remained unanswered. Mallya was the chief guest at the IMT convocation on March 20. Senior officials of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is responsible for the security of airports across the country, tried to pass on the blame to Kingfisher. They said they were aware of Mallya's transit, but were told by the airline that he was taking a scheduled flight. "We were informed by Kingfisher officials about Mallya's movement. In the rarest of rare cases, we allowed his transit on the tarmac," a CISF official said.
Asked why it was considered a rarest of rare case, as Mallya was flying in his own jet, the official said: "We were under the impression that if he goes to the terminal for security check, he would miss his flight. So, we allowed him to take the chopper to the tarmac." Security experts are, however, not buying the logic. "Even if he had to take a scheduled flight, the transfer should have been avoided because it's a breach of security," an official said. He added that relaxation in the rules is allowed in certain cases, such as technical snag. In Mallya's case, the rule was twisted.
News Courtesy : news.yahoo.com
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