The Centre has sanctioned deployment of additional 1,400 CISF personnel to provide security and regulate passenger traffic flow at the Indira Gandhi International
Airport where expansion is going on at three terminals —1, 2 and 3 — apart from its cargo hold area.
The decision was conveyed at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla along with the representatives of the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Bureau of Immigration among others.
The meeting was called to review measures taken to ease the recent congestion reported at large airports, particularly in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The home secretary discussed with stakeholders, including CISF and airport operator, continuous complaints from passengers about the rush at the entry gates, luggage drop and security check areas.
The Terminal 1 renovation and expansion was scheduled to be completed by December next year or January 2024 but the Government wants it to be expedited and finished by November 2023, the start of the holiday season.
More CISF personnel will be required to secure the expanding areas of the IGIA leading to the sanction of additional manpower.
The increased manpower of 1,400 CRPF personnel , over and above the existing strength of about 5,000 personnel, has been recently approved after a four-month-long joint survey undertaken by security agencies. The proposal was finally moved by the BCAS and approved by the Civil Aviation Ministry, officials said.
The joint review had estimated creation of about 2,400 posts for the CISF to meet the changing needs at the IGI but the manpower was finally rationalised at 1,400 personnel, sources said.
With the latest sanction, the IGIA will have a total strength of about 6,500 personnel at the airport.
The additional CISF strength will not only be used to render the core duty of providing anti-terrorist and anti-hijack cover at the hypersensitive facility but also to meet the challenge of the ever growing passenger footfall, both for domestic and international travel, the sources said.
The paramilitary force, which is guarding 66 airports throughout the country at present, had deployed about 100 personnel on Wednesday at the Delhi and Mumbai airports to ease the current congestion and to meet further footfalls during the upcoming holiday season.
Officials said during the visit of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to the IGIA recently, a total of 16 entry gates were operational. This has been increased to 18 and will be further brought up to 20 gates.
Similarly, the number of immigration counters and security check lines are also being increased, officials said.
The BCAS has also asked the airlines and the airport operators to put up posters and send awareness messages to passengers to carry only one cabin baggage and undergo web check-in before reaching the airport.
It has also asked the airport operator DIAL (for IGIA), apart from other large airports, to look at the possibility of bringing in advanced 3D baggage scanners and more automatic tray retrieval systems (ATRS).
Over the last fortnight, passengers have been posting pictures and videos of long queues and crowding at the IGIA in Delhi and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, prompting authorities to take note and tell airlines and airport operators to ease the congestion.