Eight key airports require thousands more in staff

Aviation ministry study aimed at assessing airports' needs ahead of preparing a detailed plan

- Anu Sharma

India's swelling airports need thousands of additional security and immigration personnel to avoid the kind of crush witnessed at the beginning of the year, an aviation ministry study found.

Just eight airports alone need 3,800 more Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel and 440 more immigration staff, found the study, which covered the metro airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, as well as airports in Bagdogra, Indore, Jammu and Srinagar. The ministry had sought these airports' inputs on the status of their operation and preparations for the peak travel season as part of the study that began earlier this year.

"In line with the shortage identified, the civil aviation ministry and other stakeholders are working to deploy additional manpower by CISF in two phases by October and by November. The staff reinforcement from the Bureau of Immigration is expected to start by October," a government official aware of the matter said.