Aviation security body wants permanent airport passes to be scrapped

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has issued over 2,000 permanent permits to MPs,embassies,state resident commissioners,ministers and some other officials for extending protocol.

These permits allow their holders unhindered access to the restricted and operational areas of airports. Any permit issued for more than 90 days is deemed “permanent”,and could be valid for up to three years.

Temporary permits are issued for operational (to pilots and cabin crew) and commercial (to shops within the airport area) purposes. Protocol passes are issued to VIPs,and transferable passes without names to embassies and ministries.

As per norms,the Ministries of External Affairs or Home ask the Civil Aviation Ministry to extend protocol to foreign delegations,and BCAS issues entry permits accordingly.

A senior BCAS official told The Indian Express that the Civil Aviation Ministry has convened a meeting this week to finalise the policy on entry permits. BCAS wrote to the ministry in November last year and again earlier this year,asking that permanent passes for protocol purposes be stopped.

A senior ministry official confirmed the ongoing process to draw up guidelines,but said it was “impractical” to completely stop permits for protocol.

Civil aviation secretary K N Srivastava was unavailable for comment. A BCAS official said the issuing of permanent passes for protocol violated International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines (security manual 8973),under which the security hold area is sacrosanct,with no provision for “protocol”.

“It is a security nightmare,” this official,who is familiar with the BCAS proposal,said. “Passes are misused by officials who insist on going right up to the ladder point,and even inside the aircraft,to receive their VIPs. There is additional load on security infrastructure,as normal frisking and procedures get disrupted,” the official said.

Sources said BCAS has also objected to foreign embassies not extending reciprocal facilities to Indian diplomats abroad. The aviation security regulator has issued permanent permits to embassies including that of the US. “But the US government extends no such courtesy to Indian officials,” a senior BCAS official said.