Istanbul attack: Amritsar airport security beefed up

Amritsar: Security was beefed up at Rajasansi international airport in Amritsar, and staff put on high alert, following a suicide bomb attack at Turkey's Ataturk airport in Istanbul in which 42 people were killed on Wednesday.

Sri Guru Ram Das International Airport director Venkatashwar Rao said that following directions from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), entry of visitors to the airport's gallery had been banned and vigil increased. He said all passengers were being frisked and more security checks had been introduced.

With Amritsar being a border district, officials fear that the airport is already on the radar of terrorists, especially in the aftermath of the Pathankot air base attack. Sources at the airport said they were also profiling passengers and interviewing them briefly at random as an added precaution.

More personnel of Central Security Industrial Force (CISF) have also been deployed. A source said that even airlines had been asked to check passengers. Earlier, in January, the airport security administration had suspended pick-and drop service, entry into visitors' gallery and also banned entry of devotees to Gurdwara Santsar situated in the airport's operational area.