CHENNAI: Close on the heels of the arrest of a bus driver at the Chennai airport for his role in ephedrine smuggling bid onboard a Kuala Lumpur bound flight, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is all set to crack the whip on the contract workers employed at the airport. As part of the measures, contract labourers will not be allowed to carry mobile phones into the terminal or their place of duty on the airport premises. They will also be subjected to “control of movement” by the Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) personnel while on duty. “The workers will be barred from using mobile phones while at work,” informed Airport Director E P Hareendranathan in a press statement. Admitting that the “monitoring of contract workers was not up to the mark”, the AAI statement said a massive drive will be launched to check the background of the contract workers employed in the operational area. The AAI also admitted to the security lapse in the case of the driver, employed by the Jet Airways through a sub-contractor.“We will seek police help to conduct background checks on all who are engaged in the ground handling section and other sensitive areas,” said the director. Security will be beefed up substantially at gate nos 1, 4, 6 and 9 where there is vehicle thoroughfare. The CISF guards will engage in more extensive checks instead of the random ones, he added.Hareendranathan reiterated that the much-needed camera surveillance system will be installed within two months. The Ground Handling Policy — aimed at keeping out contract workers from ground handling activities — might effectively address the issue of outsourcing of jobs by the airlines, the statement said.
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