Delhi: Soon, no entry for airport staff without Aadhaar

NEW DELHI: Ahead of Republic Day, Central Industrial Security Force has thrown a security blanket in and around Indira Gandhi International Airport. As part of a new initiative, after January 1, all airport entry passes will be issued only on the basis of Aadhaar number.

All employees have been asked to carry their Aadhaar cards for access to the building. CISF DG O P Singh said that the step was necessary to avoid unauthorised entry. There has been a spurt in incidents of trespass with people entering the premises using forged passes. When the new rule comes into effect, more than 25,000 employees working at the airport, including porters, housekeeping members, loaders and ground staff, will be under close watch.

Singh told TOI: “These passes are renewed every year. The deadline for renewing passes that were expiring this month has been extended to March 31. For others, carrying Aadhaar will be mandatory.” The step has been taken in consultation with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security.

At present, an airport employee is frisked before he is allowed into the terminal building after showing his ID card. Earlier, employees were given colour-coded pass, which were later replaced with those with alphabet codes. Employees are issued passes according to the access allowed to them.

A CISF official said specifications of these cards were changed every year to avoid duplication. “This year too, significant changes have been made, from the colour to size of an employee’s display picture,” said the official.

Singh said the airport also planned to install a biometric system soon. “Entry points will then be accessible to authorised people only. This will be a completely automated system and linked to employees’ Aadhar number to avoid duplicity,” he said.

Virtual fencing too may become a reality at IGI. Senior officials said the plan was only in the pre-conceptual stage, but had already been mentioned a few times at meetings of security agencies. They said the system would employ technology that produced invisible laser rays, which if touched or trespassed, would set off an alarm. “Such a device will be controlled from the airport operation control centre. If installed, it will give a second layer of security to the airport’s perimeter. It can be laid parallel to the existing perimeter intrusion detection system,” an official said.

At present, the IGI's perimeter is secured by PIDS, a multi-layer security set-up developed four years ago in accordance with guidelines laid down by the BCAS.

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