INS Dega conducts anti-hijack mock drill at Visakhapatnam Airport

VISAKHAPATNAM: INS Dega, a naval air station in Visakhapatnam, conducted an anti-hijack mock exercise on November 2 to test the efficacy of the contingency plan and procedures to deal with hijack threats by all stakeholders.

The anti-hijack exercise was conducted by creating a mock situation involving actions by various agencies including Marine Commandos, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Airport Authority of India and the State Government agencies.

The Indian Naval Dornier aircraft was used for initiating coordinated actions by all stakeholders from the Navy, the Airport and other Central and State agencies. On completion of the exercise, debrief was conducted and Standard Operating Procedures were revalidated to effectively deal with future contingencies.

The mock drill is conducted at every Indian airport annually as mandated by the National Civil Aviation Security Program with an aim to test the efficiency of the airport's contingency plan and to familiarise all agencies with their respective responsibilities in a hijack situation.