As airports in Delhi and Mumbai report congestion, Indian aviation security regulator has said that people will soon be able to pass the baggage screening without having to remove their electronic devices. Airports in Indian cities have been witnessing long queues of travellers at the security check-in points as they undertake a tedious process removing laptops, mobile phones and chargers from their cabin baggage.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is likely to introduce new technical norms, following which airports will be able to bring into use modern equipment to screen luggage, The Hindu reported. The new and advanced technologies, including dual x-ray, computer tomography and neutron beam technology, will not only make the screening process faster, but will also improve the security of passengers.
Currently, the airports in India use traditional x-ray machines which produce a 2-D image. With newer technologies, including computed tomography (CT) that gives a higher resolution 3-D image, there will be better automated detection of explosives.
The CT technology also has a low chances of raising false alarms, which will in turn reduce instances where CISF personnel have had to conduct physical inspection of a bag. While reducing manual effort, these scanners will also lead to higher baggage flow through the machine.
According to a senior official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, quoted by The Hindu, the technical specifications for contemporary devices for checking cabin luggage would likely be released within a month. Along with them, a new set of trial directives will be issued for the full-body scanners that will be deployed at airports to detect non-metallic items on passengers after they pass through the current door-frame metal detectors.
The installation date of these modern equipment was originally set for March 2020, however, it has since been postponed several times and is currently set for December 2023.
Measures Taken To Ease Congestion At Airports
Recently, passengers have had to face long waiting hours at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in Delhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai due to congestion. The civil aviation ministry on Monday said various steps, including the opening of two additional entry gates for passengers and deployment of additional CISF manpower, have been taken to ease congestion at Delhi airport.
Further measures include monitoring through CCTV and command centre as well as using a count meter for crowd management. Airport operator has been advised to reduce flights during the peak hour at T3 or shift them to other two terminals. The airlines have been advised to deploy sufficient manpower at all check-in/baggage drop counters, according to Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh.
Air travellers have been encouraged to use DigiYatra, the biometric-enabled seamless travel experience based on Facial Recognition Technology, and airlines have been advised to have “full compliance to barcode on tickets issued to help easy flow of passengers at entry/security gates,” he said.
Apart from opening two additional entry gates for passengers at Terminal 3 (T3) and deploying of additional CISF manpower, the minister said additional X-ray machines for baggage check are being deployed, among other measures.
