Set Up Special Security Agency For Airports, Airline Wings To Deal With Unruly Flyers: Parl Panel

With rising instances of unruly passenger behaviour onboard flights, the panel has put forth the idea of having a special airline wing to deal with police and courts in such instances.

A Parliamentary panel on Monday advised the Union government to look at the feasibility of setting up a specialised security agency for airports as air passenger traffic rises. The committee also proposed constituting a special airline wing to deal with police and courts in cases of unruly air passenger behaviour and urged the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to implement a zero-tolerance policy for such incidents. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture tabled its report in Parliament on Monday making these recommendations.

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, as per news agency PTI. It further added that the civil aviation sector is expected to grow at a faster pace which will increase the need for manpower involved 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, as quoted by PTI.

Currently, there are 148 operational airports in the country.

The latest official data states that 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 concerned airport management, and in 2019, the ministry set up the National Aviation Security Fee Trust (NASFT), which remits the money for deployment costs to the security agency.

The parliamentary committee noted that the outstanding dues of CoD for CISF are 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, as quoted by PTI.

With rising instances of unruly passenger behaviour onboard flights, the panel has put forth the idea of having a special airline wing to deal with police and courts in such instances.

The committee stated that 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.

The panel called for the DGCA to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for incidents of unruly behaviour by passengers and ensure strict implementation of the 'No Fly List'.

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

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

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