Airports across Pakistan facing shortage of security staff

Senate was told about required number of security officials at airports

ISLAMABAD: The Airport Security Staff (ASF) is currently facing a shortage of about 13,559 personnel at the country’s 42 airports, including the ASF’s headquarters, against the proposed manpower of 24,226.

The highest number of deficit is at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport where 1,026 security staff is required, as 1,551 officials have been currently occupying different posts against the total sanctioned strength of 2,577.

The ASF’s headquarters in Karachi has been facing the shortage of 1,618 security staff, including senior officers, as only 567 officials have been appointed on different positions against the total proposed manpower requirement of 2,185.



Besides, 194 posts of regional commanders at different airports have been lying vacant out of the total 242 posts.

The detail was recently presented before the Senate to a question submitted by Senator Talha Mahmood.

The written reply carries all the details of airports, sanctioned strength, and existing and required number of security officials.

Airports at Sehwan Sharif, Rahim Yar Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan have the strength of 164 security staff, but nobody has been appointed to man in and outside the airport periphery.

Similarly, Islamabad airport has 2,577 sanctioned posts of which only 1,256 are being occupied.

On Tuesday CAA Director-General Asim Suleiman also told a parliamentary panel that they were facing the shortage of staff on different airports and they would soon hire staff to vacant posts.

The written reply states that a proposal for the requirement of manpower to cover deficiencies in the deployment, especially at smaller airports, is already under consideration.

Peshawar airport has a deficit of 593 security staff, Karachi (977), Faisalabad (923), Quetta (810) and Multan airport has been facing a deficit of 553 in staff.



The Gwadar Airport, being expanded for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, is also facing the shortage of 479 security personnel.

Among smaller airports where the sanctioned posts are 164, about 31 have been facing the shortage of over 100 security staff which belongs to Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

A parliamentary panel is already probing the matter of the CAA’s advertisement about outsourcing operations and management of the airports to private companies for which 27 bidders have submitted their applications.

The issue created a hue and cry in the Senate and later in the Cabinet Secretariat’s Committee where senators questioned the government’s intentions and whether it included air control and security affairs.