Riteish Deshmukh points out security loophole at Hyderabad airport; authorities respond
Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh found himself in tough spot when power supply suddent went off at Hyderabad airport. The actor was at the airport lounge and the only emergency exit was chained. Expressing his concern,the Housefull actor tweeted to Hyderabad Airport authorities. He wrote, "So we were at the Hyderabad Airport Lounge - suddenly the power goes off- the way in & out is an elevator that shuts down. The only exit door is locked in a chain (Incase of FIRE it's a tragedy waiting to happen)."
He added, "Security personnel refuses to give permission to open the door at the cost of passengers missing their flight. Wake up Hyderabad airport Authority - public exits can't be locked in case of emergencies."
His concerns were absolutely genuine. It was a power failure but in case of fire, these emergency exits are the only way out for the people stuck inside. Taking cognizance of the matter, Hyderabad Airport authorities replied to his tweet and apologised for their irresponsible behaviour.
They wrote, "We regret the inconvenience caused. It was a minor technical snag which was resolved immediately. Please be rest assured that our Airport Terminals are safety compliant. In an event of any emergency, the glass doors can be broken. Passenger safety is of utmost importance to us."
In another tweet, they wrote, "Hi Riteish, thank you for your valuable observation. In the current set up, there is a manual lock - the key is placed in a box next to the glass door and can be accessed in case of an emergency."
Many Twitter users agreed to Riteish Deshmukh's tweet and asked the airport authorities to be more careful next time. One user wrote, "This is the airport which had been ranked as one of the best airports in the world recently."
