India issues instructions to state govts, airports

With heightened terror threat to the aviation sector, a series of instructions has been issued to all state governments, airports and agencies concerned across the country by the Civil Aviation Ministry, which has asked for their strict compliance.
"The Civil Aviation Ministry has circulated some instructions to all the airports," Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters, but did not elaborate.
All airports across the country have been on a state of high alert since the Mumbai terror attacks, with Civil Aviation Secretary M Madhavan Nambiar writing to state governments and union territory administrations to secure all airports and airstrips under their jurisdiction.
There are about 340 airports and airstrips in the country, with many of them non-functional. A large number of these airstrips are of the Second World War vintage.