Pune Airport Holds Bomb Drill to Assess Agency Readiness

A major mock drill was held at Pune airport on Saturday to assess how well security agencies can handle a bomb threat. The annual exercise was jointly conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), along with other relevant agencies.

The exercise was designed to measure the response, coordination, and emergency preparedness of each participating agency during a bomb threat scenario.

The drill opened at 11 am with a tabletop session in the conference hall of the AAI administrative building. The session covered hypothetical threat conditions, the duties of various agencies, and communication arrangements between them.

At 11:30 am, the mock exercise moved to the terminal building. In the simulated situation, an unidentified person told an IndiGo manager about an unattended bag at the check-in area, suspected of carrying explosive material.

As soon as the information reached them, IndiGo officials alerted the CISF security control room. A quick reaction team was deployed, and the affected section was swiftly evacuated. Passengers, staff, and others were guided to secure locations.

The suspicious bag was covered with a blast inhibitor, and the whole area was sealed. Teams then carried out inspections using a dog squad, explosive vapour detector (EVD), non-linear junction detector (NLJD), electronic stethoscope, and handheld real-time viewing system.

The simulation confirmed the presence of a mock improvised explosive device (IED) in the bag. A Bomb Threat Assessment Committee meeting was then convened, and the case was declared a special category threat.

The bomb disposal squad handled the bag with a telescopic manipulator and kept it in a special security container. After completing the render safe procedure successfully, the bag was taken to a designated secure disposal site.

In the cargo area, a dummy IED had been planted as well. The state bomb disposal squad detected the explosive successfully near India Post, demonstrating its readiness and skill.

Representatives from the CISF, Indian Air Force, Pune Police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), fire services, customs, immigration, the health department, airlines, and other airport stakeholders participated.

Officials noted that such mock exercises are a key component of airport security systems. They help strengthen the operational capacity of security agencies, improve coordination among them, and enhance their ability to respond quickly to emergencies.