CISF to launch app to trace lost items at airports

Passengers can enter details like the date of travel or boarding pass number to trace their belongings, which CISF will deposit with the airport operator.

Passengers who accidentally leaving their bag or valuables at the airport can now trace it through their mobile.

In 2017, CISF recovered lost items worth Rs 50 crore at airports across the country, 10% of which were from the Delhi airport. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that provides security at 59 airports of the country has finished the trial run of the lost and found mobile application, a CISF official said.

Passengers can enter details like the date of travel or boarding pass number to trace their belongings, which CISF will deposit with the airport operator.

In 2017, CISF recovered lost items worth Rs 50 crore at airports across the country, 10% of which were from the Delhi airport.

“We will soon launch the app for public and this app will also be part of UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) launched by the Prime Minister, which will allow citizens to access government services on a single platform.This will help the passenger in a big way as they have to visit our website or come to the airport to locate their missing item,” said a senior CISF officer.

In 2016, CISF recovered lost items worth Rs 5.57 crore at Delhi airport of which items worth Rs 1.78 crore were handed over to the passengers immediately while rest were kept at the airport. This year, till July, items worth Rs 2.5 crore has already been recovered at the Delhi airport.

CISF’s additional director general MA Ganapathy, during the annual press conference, said that CISF is looking at various options to improve passengers’ experience at the airport. “We have implemented express security check-in for passengers carrying hand baggage. Recently, a trial run of body scanner was conducted but it is not full proof. A decision is yet to be taken though we feel that scanners should be installed at airports,” he said.

Ganapathy also raised concern over Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) owing over Rs 700 crore to them and said the force has requested the Ministry for Civil Aviation to allow them to look into the account book of the airport operator.

“The ministry has allowed us to see how much money DIAL has collected from passengers in the name of security fee and where all it has been spent. They owe us Rs 737 crore and we have been reminding them for payment,” he added.