New Delhi, May 19 (PTI): The CISF has banned its personnel from entering the core security area of airports except in uniform and from using cellphones and toilets there.

The aviation security headquarters of the paramilitary force in New Delhi has issued a set of guidelines for its on-duty officers and jawans who guard 59 civil airports in the country.

For the past several years, no CISF member on duty at airports are allowed to carry cellphones, CISF chief O.P. Singh said. "These measures will now be enforced very strictly."

Recently, the force had suspended two jawans deployed at Chennai and Bangalore airports for alleged connivance with gold and drug couriers, respectively.

According to the new directives, no CISF personnel will be allowed to enter the airport terminal, the security hold area and the customs area "unless they are deployed there".

Troopers entering the "sterile" or the high security zone of the terminal for duty will be frisked. The "sterile" zone indicates the terminal area next to the tarmac where aircraft are parked before take-off or after landing.

"Entry of CISF personnel into the operational area should be allowed only after proper frisking and checking," the new directives said.

The CISF personnel will not be allowed to carry phones or bags inside the airport and any exception to these rules will be made only with the written permission of the airport security chief concerned.

The directives said a "special eye" has to be kept on personnel on bomb detection and disposal duty and those handling sniffer dogs because they are "not tied" to specific duty points.