The Hindu : Front Page : Spurt in air traffic, need to step up security

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Spurt in air traffic, need to step up security

V.S. Palaniappan

CISF wants more manpower; survey soon

Coimbatore: Over the last four years, the Coimbatore Airport has witnessed a phenomenal spurt in air traffic, which is almost thrice the number of landings and take-offs that it had in 2001, when the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was entrusted with the task of airport security. Till then, the local police were in charge of airport security.

Prior to the induction of CISF, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BACS), Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the CISF surveyed the number of aircraft movements and passenger traffic to assess the scale of security that Coimbatore Airport required. In 2001, when the survey was done, Coimbatore Airport had only 41 aircraft movements including six international flights (landing and take-off) a week.

The CISF led by a Deputy Commandant and Assistant Commandant was inducted into airport security with a staff strength of 127 personnel. Now, there are six airliners operating services to and from Coimbatore and one of them has made Coimbatore the hub. The AAI carried out its runway expansion work. .

The Coimbatore Airport is linked to Kozhikode, Kochi, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad besides weekly thrice international service to Sharjah.

There are two cargo freight services a week to Sri Lanka. The number of landings and take-off has touched an average all-time high of 120 a week now, besides landing and takeoff of unscheduled flights like that of VVIP , defence and private aircrafts. The airport was handling only 2,000 to 3,000 passengers a week earlier and now it stood close to 7,500 a week, say sources.

The CISF, which is handling peripheral security, access control, passenger frisking and luggage check, is now getting overstretched because of round-the-clock landings and take-offs. Given the indications that one of the private airliners was planning to increase its services, two more low-cost no frill airliners are planning to enter Coimbatore, hence the CISF proposed additionalmanpower.

Proposal

The Deputy Commandant of CISF, P. J. Rajkumar, heading the Coimbatore Airport security unit, told The Hindu that a proposal seeking 100 more personnel had been sent to the headquarters.

The CISF will conduct a joint survey/inspection along with AAI and BACS authorities and forward the proposal to the Union Home Ministry and Ministry of Civil Aviation for sanction.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page