How safe are our airports?

Do the security checks in our airports really make us safer on the air? If anything, the invasive measures like body scanners and frisking by Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) do hardly make us at all safe.
This became evident in the wake of an aborted hijacking of the country's national flag carrier Biman's Dubai-bound Boeing aircraft that flew from Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) and landed at Chottogram Shah Amanat International Airport carrying 134 passengers and 14 crew members on Sunday evening.

The hijacker in the guise of a passenger eschewing security barriers entered Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight brandishing a pistol in hand held the pilot, crew and passengers hostage at Chattogram airport on Sunday evening.
Sometimes the travellers are made to go through humiliating searches  by Security personnel of (CAAB) in the name of doing everything possible to ensure a foolproof flight security.  

On February 19 last year, airport security was breeched by a uniformed police sub-inspector who boarded a Bangkok-bound flight without travel documents at HSIA. SI Ashiqur entered the terminal through the heavy luggage Gate-3 and after completing the inspection, he crossed Gate-1 accompanied by an immigration police officer and went to the Boarding Bridge-5 with his aunt.
On November 6 in 2016, there was a security breech at the HSIA.  An unknown person entered the airport through the international departure (second level) access point introducing him as a cleaning staff.  Members of the airport security challenged the person and were involved in an altercation that resulted in several members of the security staff getting stabbed.
 
In another incident on October 8 in 2015, a private airline operator US-Bangla Dash-8 was taxiing towards the runway at HSIA for its domestic flight to Chattogram when the cabin crew discovered something unusual. The 72-seater plane was found fully occupied when all the passengers except one were provided boarding cards. According to a security officer of CAAB, the surprising thing is that the passenger went inside the protected zone dodging the eyes of the civil aviation security.

In March 2016, the British government clamped an embargo on air cargo from Dhaka to London as the HSIA failed to meet some international security requirements. The British government also identified poor screening both of passengers and consignments, especially lack of explosive tracking devices.
British company Redline Aviation Security Ltd worked at HSIA to upgrade security from 2016 to 2018.

 As part of the government's short term initiatives, CAAB appointed Redline to meet the UK's requirements for upgrading the security system.
The government appointed Redline at a cost of Tk 73.25 crore in March of 2016.  Redline scrutinised the airport's security system and inspected various areas. 

A high official of CAAB, wishing not to be quoted, told this correspondent on Monday that it is very hard to understand why it has failed to improve the security system at the HSIA. Even after the UK company was given the responsibility to improve the system, the security situation deteriorated further, he said. 

Meanwhile, the Canadian government expressed keenness to cooperate in the development of airports in Bangladesh, including the security system.