NE BUSINESS BUREAU
SURAT, FEB 9
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Wednesday took over the security of the Surat airport in Gujarat with the induction of about 360 armed personnel for providing a counter-terrorist cover to the facility, officials said.
This is the 65th civil airport under the aviation security group (ASG) of the central force, that functions under the Union home ministry.
Prioritising Security!
The security of Surat Airport is handed over to CISF, pleasure to be present at the induction ceremony held at Surat Airport today in the august presence of Hon'ble State President Shri @CRPaatil ji and other dignitaries. pic.twitter.com/8cd5VYmX5K
— Harsh Sanghavi (Modi ka Parivar) (@sanghaviharsh) February 9, 2022
Surat, about 300 kms from state capital Gandhinagar, is the biggest diamond cutting and polishing hub of the country and as per officials, the airport handles over 1.25 lakh passengers per month.
Expanding ! Evolving ! CISF Excellence in #AviationSecurity
In a glittering ceremony #CISF takes the charge of security of Surat Airport (Guj), extending its security cover to 354 Units across the country.
#PROTECTIONandSECURITY #COMMITMENT@HMOIndia@JM_Scindia@MoCA_GoI pic.twitter.com/mTrIh9k7Op— CISF (@CISFHQrs) February 9, 2022
The Centre had sanctioned the manpower for the airport in the middle of the year 2020 but the CISF induction at the facility, run by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), kept getting delayed due to logistical issues, officials said.
The induction took place on Wednesday during a ceremonial event attended by officials and representatives of Gujarat government, AAI and the CISF, they said.
A deputy commandant rank officer will head the CISF contingent that is about 360 personnel strong, they added.
The airport has regular commercial flights connecting major domestic destinations like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Bangalore among others and was being guarded by personnel of the Gujarat Police and their reserve units till now.
In Gujarat, the CISF already guards the airports at Bhuj, Bhavnagar, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and Porbandar.
The 1.62-lakh personnel strong paramilitary force is designated as the national civil aviation security force and the government has earlier said that it will be gradually given the charge of more and more civil airports.
There are about 100 operational airports in the country at present.
The CISF, as per its existing protocol at other civil airports, will provide a 24×7 armed cover to the facility, and frisk passengers and their luggage ahead of boarding a flight.
The troops will be armed with assault rifles like the AK series and INSAS, and will man the airport perimeter from watch towers erected at vantage positions apart from having a vehicle-borne quick reaction team, an officer had said earlier.
