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Aviation Fans detained in Delhi

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  • Aviation Fans detained in Delhi

    Two British spotters detained in Delhi after requesting a hotel room with a view of the runway raised suspicions with the hotel staff who informed security forces.
    FFS! I know this is not an unusual occurance but I didn't think India had entered the abyss of PARANOIA that the rest of the western world has fallen into.
    In future you run the risk of being arrested if you're seen near an airport with a notebook and pencil and wearing an anorak

  • #2
    Originally posted by Thurian View Post
    Two British spotters detained in Delhi after requesting a hotel room with a view of the runway raised suspicions with the hotel staff who informed security forces.
    FFS! I know this is not an unusual occurance but I didn't think India had entered the abyss of PARANOIA that the rest of the western world has fallen into.
    In future you run the risk of being arrested if you're seen near an airport with a notebook and pencil and wearing an anorak
    India has very strict rules about aviation photography and have had these for years, well before 9/11. This is because many airports in India share their tarmac with air force bases, like Pune, the old HAL airport in Bangalore, and Delhi, which used to share Palam air field with the air-force.

    The DGCA strictly prohibits photography at all airports with air-force personnel/aircraft, however, recently aviation photography has been allowed at privately owned airports like Bangalore (BIAL) and the Rajiv Gandhi Int'l Airport in Hyderabad.

    I believe that Delhi is now privately operated by DIAL (largely headed by GMR group and several international companies, eg., Fraport), but is still owned by AAI (Airports Authority of India).

    The couple was staying at the Radisson Hotel near the airport with a view of runway 11-29 and asked the staff for a room with a view of the runway and the staff became suspicious seeing their sophisticated equipment.

    Basically what raised suspicion was that the team of spotters was carrying very high powered binoculars, large SLR's with lots of telephoto lenses, telescopes and using other "sophisticated" equipment. According to the article, the spotters also was using AirNav Radar Box software. Anyone familiar to aviation spotting knows that many spotters keep large lenses, an SLR, and maybe binoculars, however, in a country where Indian police aren't familiar with aviation spotting, these things can be seen as dangerous.

    Link: http://www.bangaloreaviation.com/201...rested-in.html

    (I believe this blog is run by one of our JP.net members)


    Pair carrying radar-scanning equipment arouse suspicion after requesting hotel rooms overlooking Delhi airport




    Regards,

    Rohan

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