No smile please: Indian airport police to go grumpy

Armed police at Indian airports have been told to cut down on smiling


Afp October 09, 2018
Indian airport guards instructed to smile less. PHOTO: AFP

NEW DELHI: Armed police at Indian airports have been told to cut down on smiling, with officials blaming the 2001 US terror attacks partly on an excessive focus on friendliness, local media reported Tuesday.

The Central Industrial Security Force, in charge of aviation safety, will move from a "broad smile system" to a "sufficient smile system", the Indian Express said in a front-page report.

The English language newspaper said the move was aimed at making the CISF "more vigilant than friendly".

Caught before flight: Killer of wife, daughter arrested at airport

"We cannot be over-friendly with the passengers because one of the reasons cited as to why 9/11 happened...was excessive reliance on passenger friendly features," CISF director general Rajesh Ranjan was quoted as saying.

Ranjan also said CISF personnel would be trained in behavioural analysis by international consultants.

India has witnessed a six-fold increase in passenger numbers over the past decade as citizens take advantage of better connectivity and cheaper fares in the highly competitive sector.

But airports are struggling to cope with the surge and analysts have warned that the government needs to spend billions of dollars to boost capacity and safety.

Earlier this month the government said some domestic flyers would be soon able to leave their boarding passes at home, thanks to proposed facial recognition technology at airports.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ