International flight operations are expected to return to normal soon, said Secretary Ministry of Civil Aviation Rajiv Bansal on Wednesday. “International flight operations expected to return to normal soon. We are making all efforts to hand overall operations of Air India by the end of December,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bansal said that the Central Armed Police Force wing Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is currently responsible for providing security cover to 352 establishments in India, will soon be given additional responsibility to enhance its strength at airports across the country with inputs of deployment of its 3,000 additional personnel, as per the demand of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Bansal said: “Ministry of Civil Aviation has sought more CISF security personnel for airports from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and that 3,000 additional CISF personnel to be provided in a gradual manner”. The CISF, however, said that it has not received any such order yet from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
With its current strength of 163,590 personnel, the CISF is presently guarding 64 airports including all international airports, major hypersensitive, sensitive and joint venture airports across the country. The strength was 2,000 when the CISF was assigned with the prestigious task of aviation security at Indian airports and the force was first inducted at Jaipur Airport on 3 February 2000.
More than 30,000 CISF personnel are currently deployed at airports across the country and designated as the Aviation Security Group (ASG) with their special training to bring in professionalism and synergy in the performance of their duties.