The aviation and hospitality industry reeling after the Covid pandemic shutdown is now bracing for another challenge of the security nightmare screening personal electronic gadgets including smartphone, tablets, smartwatches and other wearables used on flights following the deadly pager and walkie talkies blasts in Lebanon on alleged Hezbollah groups.
The explosives in daily electronic devices has triggered panic in airlines and hotel industry with security experts warning new restrictions on devices like mobiles and laptops that can be booby-trapped to explode remotely with a code, time or geofencing.
Qatar Airways has banned carrying pagers and walkie-talkies onboard all its flights from Lebanon and others airlines will follow the ban at another airports fear aviation experts. “The ban will be extended to personal electronic gadgets including smartphones and laptops by other airlines,” fears Vijay Singh, security advisor with several airlines.
While Qatar Airways has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on flights from Lebanon, aviation experts have warned of personal electronic gadgets would be in the prohibited list of flyers at airports in the coming weeks.
“Hezbollah attacks have Shaken the trust level on communication equipment’s , and enhanced the Risk factors, be it walkie-talkie, pagers, cell phones and other e equipments,” warned aviation expert Vipul Saxena and further added that till such time government comes out with some safety check measures, airlines and airport operations will get major disruption.
The personal electronic devices vital for communication in the fast paced modern economy will be on the list of stringent security checks adding to the long queues and delays.
“The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security will introduce more stringent security protocols to make range of walkie-talkie restricted to local ranges and jammers for long range frequency bands with basic handset model will be enforced at most airports,” added Saxena.
According to aviation security experts, the explosion highlights limitations of current security protocols. “While airports security focuses on preventing conventional threats like metallic objects, liquid explosives, or concealed firearms with significant strides in detecting and preventing the smuggling of traditional weapons and explosives, the methods used to conceal explosives within electronic devices represent a new frontier in security threats,” said senior BCAS official.
The airports and hotel are now bracing for the deluge of similar threats from explosives laden personal digital devices of daily use.
"Battery-operated devices like smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables are now an emerging threat with dire consequences for air travel safety,” said senior CISF officials on duty at Mumbai Airport for security checks.
The Hezbollah pager explosion has illustrated that even the most benign-looking electronic devices can be transformed into weapons in the wrong hands.
