Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): The Jabalpur airport in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday became the 67th civil air terminal in the country to be guarded by the armed personnel of the CISF, the national civil aviation protection police organisation.
A contingent of 115 personnel of this central armed police force (CAPF) took charge of the airport located in the Dumna area of the city. A ceremonial induction ceremony was held at the airport.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) unit will be headed by an assistant commandant rank officer, a senior officer told PTI.
"The deployment of CISF personnel at the airport will help enhance security and provide a safer environment for passengers and staff alike," a spokesperson for the force said in Delhi.
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The facility is run and operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). A few flights to Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Indore are operated daily from here.
The CISF, according to its existing protocol at other civil airports, will provide a 24x7 armed cover to the facility and will frisk passengers and their luggage ahead of boarding a flight.
The troops will be armed with assault rifles like the AK series and the INSAS, and will man the airport perimeter from watch towers erected at vantage positions apart from having a vehicle-borne quick reaction team, a senior officer said.
With this induction, the CISF will be guarding 67 civil airports of the country, a journey that began from the Jaipur airport on February 3, 2000.
The force was entrusted with the task in the aftermath of the 1999 hijack of the Indian Airlines Kathmandu-Delhi flight, IC-814, to Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Jabalpur, situated on the banks of the Narmada River in the Mahakoshal region of the central Indian state, is about 315 km from the state capital Bhopal.
It serves as a major business centre and a transit point for tourists heading to the 'Bhedaghat' in the city apart from popular national parks like Bandhavgarh and Panna.
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