275-room Taj hotel a threat to international airport?

The Mumbai international airport has a new threat: a 275-room five-star (luxury) hotel being developed by the Taj-GVK combine.

During one of the meetings recently to discuss security-related issues about the airport, concerns were raised since the hotel will hardly be 50 metres from the nose of parked planes, and its windows will face the air side, once it gets completed.

The hotel, with an investment of around Rs 110.25 crore, is being constructed near terminal 1A of the airport.

According to aviation ministry officials, security meetings are held periodically and are attended by several agencies like the police, customs, immigration, CISF, MIAL, AAI, BCAS among others. Questions are now being raised as to how the aviation safety regulator and AAI gave the go- ahead to the plan, without applying their mind over the window issue.

BS Tiwary, Regional Deputy Commissioner of Security (CA), Mumbai, could not be contacted for comment.

Mumbai International Airport Ltd officials, however, defended the project saying that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), responsible for security inside the airport, will also guard the hotel.

“If the airport terminal can be safe under CISF, so will be the hotel as every entry and exit will be thoroughly checked and scanned,” MIAL officials say.

Hotels exist close to airports in many countries. Even the GVK-Taj project is part of what is called a Skycity project, developed on lines of the Bangkok airport.

But it's something that happened in New Delhi recently that security agencies here cite to press their case.

The Aerocity area near Delhi also had several hotels near its precincts. But the Delhi police refused them no-objection certificates till they installed bullet-proof glass panes over windows.

While even hotels, which were 300-400 meters away from the air side, installed bullet-proof glasses, the Taj-GVK hotel in Mumbai will have three-layered tough-in glasses. Security experts say that just won't do.

The Skycity project envisages shopping malls, hotels, convention centres, retail space, entertainment centres and theme parks.