20000401

CAA made single

controlling authority

at airports

KARACHI: The Ministry of Defence has decided to put all functionaries working at 34 civil airports in the country under the functional control of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in order to ensure smooth flow of passengers, an aviation source said on Friday.

He said in the absence of a single controlling authority, different functionaries at the airports were not working like a team which resulted in confusion and chaos. The only way out was to appoint a functional head, who could coordinate between the agencies working at the airports as well as monitoring their work.

With the implementation of this decision, agencies including Customs, Immigration, Airports Security Forces, Health, etc., working at the airports would come under direct control and supervision of the airport managers of the CAA.

Meanwhile, a conference of zonal managers and airport managers of the CAA, chaired by Director General, CAA Air Marshal Aliuddin, discussed methodology of implementing the decision to ensure smooth and flawless passenger movement at all the 34 civil airports.

According to the source, the objective of the decision was to make airports passengerfriendly by creating an atmosphere of understanding between the agencies working at the airports. This will help ensure smooth and uninterrupted service to passengers.

The CAA has already sent names of four zonal managers and 30 airport managers, who have been designated as functional heads, to the Ministry of Defence for information.ÑPPI