A low-intensity crude bomb was found in a cargo compartment of the Kingfisher flight with 27 passengers on board, which arrived in Thiruvananthapuram from Bengaluru at 8.25 am on March 21.

The explosive was found wrapped in a newspaper by the staff of the airline who were cleaning and readying the aircraft for its onward flight. The Civil Aviation Ministry has ordered a high-level probe into the episode but the fact cannot be denied that it was clearly a breach of the airport security and utter neglect of duty. The Baggage is supposed to be scanned using X-ray machines. The airport security serves two purposes: To protect the airport from attacks and crime and to protect the aircraft from attack. This particular case makes it crystal clear that the security staff at the Bengaluru airport failed to perform their duty. It is widely known that terrorists have been using remote control to trigger blasts. Much before 9/11, India stepped up its airport security after the 1999 Kandahar hijacking. The Central Industrial Security Force is in charge of airport security under the regulatory framework of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. Apart from the CISF every airline has an aviation security force which is a separate department. This incident also underlines the need for installing more advanced explosive detection machines. In fact the detection of the crude bomb reveals the vulnerability of our airports and flights to terror attacks. Terrorist threats and narcotics are the main threats in Indian airports. While the government should take severe action against the security personnel responsible for the lapse, it should ensure that the lapses in the security system are eliminated.