NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) offices must be made operational at the headquarters of all states in the country by 2027.
Shah, along with Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, reviewed the immigration system, passenger facilities and security arrangements at all major airports with all stakeholders.
It is learnt that India presently has 12 FRRO offices in these cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Amritsar, Goa, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Lucknow. An official release on the meeting said that Shah also directed that the authorized immigration checkpoints at Agartala and Jewar (Noida) airports be made operational soon.
The Union Home Secretary, Director of the Intelligence Bureau, Civil Aviation Secretary, Director General of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Airports Authority of India Chairman and senior officers from both the Home Affairs and Civil Aviation ministries took part in the meeting.
“To popularise the Fast Track Immigration-Trusted Travellers’ Programme (FTI-TTP), a mechanism should be established in coordination with airlines to send a WhatsApp message to passengers at the time of booking an international ticket, requesting them to register for the FTI-TTP,” Shah said.
The Home Minister also mandated the installation of the Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) in a phased manner at all airports across the country with the objective of reducing human resource costs. He called for appropriate standards to be laid down to ensure the ATRS is introduced at new airports. He further directed that the baggage drop facility, currently available at the 16 major airports, be extended to other international airports in the country which have high passenger traffic.
“A co-ordinated plan has been prepared for every touch-point at airports to ensure the seamless movement of passengers,” Shah said. He called for developing a framework by taking into account the interdependence between entry lanes, check-in counters, screening lanes, and immigration counters at airports so that passenger flow is not disrupted at any touchpoint, the release said.
The Home Minister also asked the Civil Aviation Ministry and the CISF to independently commission separate third-party studies during the peak travel season to assess and reduce passenger delays at all touchpoints across major airports. The ongoing work at all airports must be completed within the next two years, the minister mandated.
“The 21 airports currently under development and the remaining 41 airports must be prioritised for development based on passenger traffic, in accordance with the security standards prescribed by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), with the objective of enhancing passenger convenience while ensuring that commercial areas remain within the prescribed norms,” Shah said.
Shah asked the aviation ministry to prescribe norms on the number of aerobridges needed at all airports based on the passenger traffic and air traffic.
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Automatic Tray Retrieval System (ATRS) to be installed at all airports
Move aimed at reducing human resource costs
Standards to be laid down to ensure the ATRS is introduced at new airports
