- CAA director general orders inquiry
ISLAMABAD: The manager of the Islamabad International Airport (IIA) was suspended, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson, after stray dogs were found wandering in the facility’s lounge.
The spokesperson said that the suspension orders were given by the CAA director general following media reports. The director general has also issued orders for an inquiry into the matter. When asked, airport manager Asghar Faheem said that he welcomed the inquiry.
He said that CAA has the authority to take such actions. According to experts, the entry of the stray dogs inside the airport area was not a management-related issue, it was rather a breach of security.
Footage shows a pack of at least five stray dogs roaming outside the airport’s lounge in the basement. In a potential safety hazard, the dogs can be heard barking at passengers proceedings towards the parking with their luggage. Officials at IAA said that strays dogs have been spotted on the airport’s premises regularly in recent weeks.
The airport has multiple layers of security, including the deployment of personnel belonging to the Airports Security Force (ASF), paramilitary forces and the police. Besides, sirens have also installed that start ringing over the slightest movement. The management of the new airport has been criticised earlier when passengers were met with a bundle of difficulties soon after the facility became operational.
The officials said that frightened passengers have repeatedly alerted the Airport Security Force officials about the dogs’ presence, but no action was taken. The passengers said that the stray dogs have been able to come as close as the arrival lounge of the airport was proof of negligence on the part of ASF and CAA.