Gadgets in trays for airport check may go by year-end - timesofindia.com

NEW DELHI: Air travellers could be spared the hassle of removing personal electronic devices (PEDs) like mobile phones and laptops from cabin/hand bags and hunt for separate plastic trays to keep them on, at pre-embarkation security checkpoints (PESC) of busy Indian airports by this year-end.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) DG, Zulfiquar Hasan, has ordered operators of all airports handling 50 lakh and more passengers annually to install 3D computed tomography X-ray (CTX) machines for cabin bag checks by December 31, 2023.
These machines do not require passengers to keep PEDs, chargers and liquids in separate trays, something that has to be done with the current 2D X-ray scanners.
Hasan has also set the year-end deadline for all hyper sensitive airports that handle one crore and more passengers annually to introduce full body scanners (FBS).
Adopting this long overdue technology, which has seen several deadlines lapse since March 2020 due to Covid, will allow faster and more stringent security checks.
The need for these two advanced technologies was badly felt last November-December, when airport terminals in many cities witnessed long passenger queues and chaos for days.
The BCAS order also stipulates all new non-RCS (regional connectivity scheme) airports — that includes the upcoming ones at Greater Noida and Navi Mumbai — to install CTX and FBS “before the start of the operation itself”. Timelines have been given for other smaller airports too, said BCAS sources.
Sources said CTX will not only improve passenger experience by speeding up the PESC process, but also make security more robust. “FBS will enhance the capability of detecting non-metallic threat objects like liquid, gel or plastic contraband such as explosives and inflammable items that can be concealed on the body. Transportation of drugs can also be stopped with a full body scanner. They will help avoid strip searches and invasive pat downs,” said a source.
TOI sought comments from airport operators about their plans for installing these technologies before the year-end. State-run Airports Authority of India said this “is under consideration”.
Two of the biggest private operators — GMR group and Adani group — however, did not comment.

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Gadgets in trays for airport check may go by year-end - timesofindia.com
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