Parliamentary panel suggests setting up specialised security agency for airports

A Parliamentary panel on Monday asked the government to look at the feasibility of setting up a specialised security agency for airports amid rising air passenger traffic.

Besides, the committee has proposed constituting a special airline wing to deal with police and courts in unruly air passenger behaviour cases and urged aviation regulator DGCA to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for such incidents.

These are among the recommendations made by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, which tabled its report in Parliament on Monday.

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Out of a total of 353 units deployed by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), 66 units or 18.7 per cent are deployed at the airports, the panel said and added that the civil aviation sector is expected to grow at a faster pace and that will increase the need for manpower engaged in providing security at airports.

"The committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry of Civil Aviation may examine the feasibility of setting up a specialised security agency for airports only, in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs," the report said.

There are 148 operational airports in the country.

As per the latest official data, the country's domestic air passenger traffic grew 18.78 per cent to around 1.25 crore in June compared to the year-ago period.

The Cost of Deployment (CoD) of CISF is paid by the airport management concerned, and in 2019, the ministry set up the National Aviation Security Fee Trust (NASFT), which remits the money for deployment cost to the security agency.

The committee noted that the outstanding dues of CoD for CISF is more than Rs 4,707 crore.

"Further, the 16 joint venture airports account for more than 64 per cent of the total outstanding CoD dues. The committee notes the huge amount of outstanding dues which are payable to CISF by the NASFT, especially the dues of the 16 joint venture airports and desires to know the reasons for the same.

"The committee hopes that the dues will be cleared at the earliest by NASFT to enable the CISF to provide fool-proof security at airports through deployment of enough manpower and the latest security gadgets at airports," it said.

Against the backdrop of rising instances of unruly passenger behaviour onboard flights, the panel has mooted the idea of having a special airline wing to deal with police and courts in such cases.

At present, the committee said the pilot and crew members have to attend the court and visit police stations for prosecuting the unruly passenger.

"The ministry may also coordinate with the concerned departments to ensure that any victims of unruly passengers are not required to physically visit distant police stations and courts in pursuance of legal remedy in such cases," it added.

Also, the panel has said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) may enforce a zero-tolerance policy for incidents of unruly behaviour by passengers and strict implementation of the 'No Fly List' may be ensured.

DGCA may periodically review the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and emergency procedures manuals framed by the airline companies in this regard, it added.

According to the ministry, 37 passengers have been placed on the 'No Fly List' this year till July 15, and the action was taken mainly for not wearing masks or for not obeying the instructions of crew members.