Aviation ministry demand for separate force opposed

The Civil Aviation Ministry may have sought for a dedicated force under its control to man airport security but the Union Home Ministry is opposed to the proposal, expressing fear that such a force under civilian control could lead to “unionism” and “questionable” standard of discipline.

The demand for a dedicated airport security force was renewed by the Civil Aviation Ministry recently after the incident in Karipur (Kozhikode) airport in Kerala where one CISF personnel was killed following a scuffle with airport staff. Security sources said the Home Ministry and the CISF, which presently guard airports across the country, are against such a move saying it would be detrimental to the whole security scenario in the country and they have opposed it.

The Home Ministry’s argument is that the CISF is a central paramilitary force and it has established mechanisms of intelligence sharing through agencies like Multi Agency Centre and Subsidiary Multi Agency Centre. A new force under a different ministry, sources said, would find this “extremely difficult” to replicate.