CISF working on 'white paper' to standardise security gadgetry and infrastructure at India's airports
NEW DELHI: With the country's civil aviation sector facing threats from global terrorist organisations, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is working on a 'white paper' to standardise security gadgetry and infrastructure at India's airports.
The CISF, which secures 59 of the country's 98 civil airports, is drafting a concept paper that will detail the role of different agencies involved in civil aviation security, including guards, local police, intelligence agencies, immigration officials, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It will also dwell on the security framework for the approach areas of airports, terminals, and the construction of buildings in the vicinity, among other facets, said officials.
CISF director general O P Singh believes the civil aviation security industry will be one of the world's biggest in the near future and there is a need to give it utmost priority.
"We are in the process of preparing a concept paper for integrating the overall security architecture at airports under our cover. It will spell out the entire gamut of security-related protocols," Singh said. As part of standardising the security protocol, a highlevel panel of CISF, BCAS and airport operators has already begun conducting ground assessment at select airports, and the beginning of 'tag-free' hand baggage for passengers is a measure in this direction.
A blueprint recently prepared by the CISF stated that CCTV systems "monitoring pre-embarkation checks and the security hold area" need to be upgraded to capture the "whole gamut of activities from the terminal area upto the aircraft".
The blueprint also stipulated that quick reaction teams of CISF immediately be provided with armoured vehicles to effectively counter a terrorist attack. Large airports like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru should be secured with foolproof intrusion-detection systems or perimeter fences, it added.
The CISF, which secures 59 of the country's 98 civil airports, is drafting a concept paper that will detail the role of different agencies involved in civil aviation security, including guards, local police, intelligence agencies, immigration officials, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It will also dwell on the security framework for the approach areas of airports, terminals, and the construction of buildings in the vicinity, among other facets, said officials.
CISF director general O P Singh believes the civil aviation security industry will be one of the world's biggest in the near future and there is a need to give it utmost priority.
"We are in the process of preparing a concept paper for integrating the overall security architecture at airports under our cover. It will spell out the entire gamut of security-related protocols," Singh said. As part of standardising the security protocol, a highlevel panel of CISF, BCAS and airport operators has already begun conducting ground assessment at select airports, and the beginning of 'tag-free' hand baggage for passengers is a measure in this direction.
A blueprint recently prepared by the CISF stated that CCTV systems "monitoring pre-embarkation checks and the security hold area" need to be upgraded to capture the "whole gamut of activities from the terminal area upto the aircraft".
The blueprint also stipulated that quick reaction teams of CISF immediately be provided with armoured vehicles to effectively counter a terrorist attack. Large airports like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru should be secured with foolproof intrusion-detection systems or perimeter fences, it added.
