MUMBAI

Pune airport to get additional CISF cover

The Pune airport will soon get more security cover with the Union home ministry sanctioning 209 additional posts for the Central Industrial Security Force.

Anurag Bende

Updated : Dec 31, 2011, 05:27 PM IST

Pune airport to get additional CISF cover

The Pune airport will soon get more security cover with the Union home ministry sanctioning 209 additional posts for the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The CISF had requested for additional manpower after the expansion of the airport. The Union home ministry’s report for December states that the 209 posts have been sanctioned to augment the strength of the CISF at the Pune airport.

Assistant Commandant of CISF, JS Nayal, heading the security of the Pune airport, told DNA that they have already started getting additional staff at the airport.

Nayal said, “The Pune airport is considered one of the hypersensitive airports in the country as it has an Indian Air Force (IAF) base, the IT and automobile industries. The procedure of sanctioning the additional staff for the Pune airport has been going on for nearly a month. The home ministry accepted our demand and we have already got some additional staff at the airport.”

He declined to reveal the current staff strength at the airport on security grounds.
The Airport Authority of India shares the running of the Pune airport at Lohegaon with the IAF. Earlier there were limited flights, but recently the airport was expanded and new flights have been added.

This resulted in increase in number of passengers. Speaking about the need for more security cover at the Pune airport, Nayal said, “Earlier, the airport would operate around 20 flights and that also during daytime. But now since the expansion of the airport, more than 40 flights are being operated from Pune airport. The airport has started working round the clock, therefore we had requested the home ministry for additional manpower.”

“This additional force will be useful for us for round-the-clock security at the airport. We can deploy more staff at the outside area where the airport has been expanded. Apart from that, the passengers coming to the airport will be able to go through the security check faster as we can open more counters with additional manpower,” he said.