Staff crunch hits airport security

V Ayyappan TNN

Dec 4, 2008

Chennai: Recently, a teenager from Andhra Pradesh purchased a visitor’s ticket and entered Anna International terminal at the airport. He wandered around and managed to reach the terrace of the building, where he spent several hours watching the flights land and take off before he was accidentally spotted by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel. Such lapses apart, there are avoidable risks. For example, it is common for drivers and attenders of ministers and MLAs and MPs to enter the airport and do the checkin for their masters. This is not only a violation of rules but also amounts to courting danger. Though the Airports Authority of India has managed to bring in additional 200 personnel to temporarily beef up security for the anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid, the short-staffed CISF is struggling to avoid security lapses and maintain high vigil at the airport. These armed commandos with bullet-proof jackets and machine guns will be around only for another five days. After that just 600 CISF personnel will be responsible for the security of the airport, where more than 20,000 people pass through at any given point of time. Sources said there was a shortage of 150 CISF personnel at the airport, which makes it increasingly difficult for the existing strength of 600 personnel to cover every nook and corner. The force has only 45 women personnel. This prevents them from posting women at entry and exit points to screen female visitors. Consequently, CISF personnel are forced to do extended duty (up to 12 hours), which has a direct bearing on their alertness. The personnel are also not welltrained in security-check. “Rather than identifying passengers with potential risk, they resort to detailed frisking of all passengers and even airline crew in a one-sizefits-all manner,” says Captain S Sabu, a pilot. According to Captain A Ranganathan, a former pilot, passengers should go straight to the security check and that lounges and restaurants should be built in the hold area.