NEW DELHI, Dec 21: In a bid to speed up security clearance at the major airports in the country, the passengers may soon be spared the trouble of laying out laptops, phones and chargers in separate trays to ease the congestion that hit several airports, particularly Delhi, reports said on Wednesday.
The aviation security watchdog, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), is set to roll out a mandate within a month that will speed up the adoption of modern equipment to screen bags without removing electronic devices. The new baggage scanners, already in use at many airports in the US and Europe, do not require passengers to bare open their electronic devices or jackets.
“Our aim is to clear the passengers faster and with better security equipment,” a Union Civil Aviation Ministry official said. The new machines will be first installed in all major airports such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad and reach other airports within a year, the official said.
The move comes after authorities were left scrambling last week to tackle a surge in travel that overwhelmed some of the country’s busiest airports, prompting calls for more staff and security equipment. Passengers queued for hours to pass through check-in and security at the main domestic and international terminals of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, leading to some flight delays.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia visited the airport and said more x-ray machines and staff were added to Terminal 3. He said additional measures were also being taken at other airports, including those in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Like in other countries, air travel in India has picked up as COVID-19 restrictions have eased. December is a busy month for the global aviation sector, and traffic is expected to be higher this year after two years of restricted travel due to the pandemic.
(Manas Dasgupta)
