NEW DELHI: Post-privatization of Air India, the country has had no state-owned carrier. The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are the net loser. The paramilitary forces are hard-pressed to get seats on sanctioned price bands. Besides, there are no designated flights for the personnel, particularly for those deployed in J&K and northeastern states.
In the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack in January 2019, the Home Ministry had made a big convoy rule change and had issued an order approving the entitlement of air travel to low-ranking personnel on the Delhi-Srinagar, Srinagar-Delhi, Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar-Jammu routes.
At least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed in that attack.
Officials said that air courier services face challenges due to coordination and financial issues across various locations, affecting personnel of all the CAPFs deployed in the three internal security theatres — J&K, Naxal-affected areas and northeastern states.
During a recent meeting chaired by CRPF Director General Anish Dayal, the problem of seats resurfaced, prompting discussions on finding a solution, said a senior officer.
Officers participating in various deliberations complained they were not getting seats in flights on account of limited capacity, particularly on the Srinagar-Jammu-Delhi route.
The officials also mentioned that on the Delhi-Kolkata-Aizawl route, they get Air Charter Service (ACS) only on Saturdays, posing constraints for personnel, officials said. They said on the Dibrugarh-Guwahati-Delhi route, the air courier services have been stopped, causing severe inconvenience in commuting from challenging locations.
About other routes, officials said jawans are also facing problems on the Kolkata-Imphal-Kolkata route due to increased force deployment in Manipur. The demand was made to expand the frequency of air services from three to five days to accommodate the increased numbers of personnel deployed there.
After the initial decision in 2019 to provide an air courier service to those personnel posted in Jammu & Kashmir, the Ministry extended the facility in all sectors to help security personnel cut down on travel time during their journey to and fro from home on leave.
The eight approved routes include Kolkata-Aizawl-Silchar-Kolkata, Kolkata-Agartala-Kolkata, Kolkata -Imphal-Kolkata, Delhi-Srinagar-Delhi, Srinagar-Jammu-Srinagar, Delhi-Leh-Delhi, Delhi-Dibrugarh-Guwahati-Delhi, and Delhi-Raipur-Jagdalpur-Raipur-Delhi.
Post Pulwama attack in 2019
Home Ministry cleared air travel for low-ranking personnel on Kashmir routes linking to Delhi
Deployment problem
Air courier services face challenges due to coordination and financial issues
The lack of services hits personnel of all CAPFs deployed in J&K, Naxal areas and northeastern states
Officers not getting seats in flights due to limited capacity, particularly on Kashmir route