The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the Indian aviation security watchdog, on July 31 said that on average it finds around 25,000 prohibited items in air passengers' check-in and hand-carry baggage daily.
BCAS chief Zulfiquar Hasan while inaugurating the Aviation Security Culture Week event on July 31 said that Indian passengers are quite unaware of security concerns while taking flights and the government needs to step up its efforts to spread awareness among passengers, especially first-time passengers.
"The reason we at the BCAS felt it is important to hold an Aviation Security Culture Week was to educate Indian passengers on steps they should follow while travelling by air," Hasan said.
He added that India has a very high number of first-time travellers when it comes to aviation who are not aware of the protocol to follow when flying, and this causes delays in security clearances and discourages passengers as well.
Hasan told journalists that every day the BCAS finds lighters, scissors, knives, and liquid in the carry-on baggage of customers at airports across India.
He added that in check-in baggage, customers tend to pack power banks, lighters, loose batteries and laptops, which are all classified as prohibited items.
Earlier this month Mumbai airport reported a rise in check-in bag rejection due to prohibited items in items of baggage.
Hasan also emphasized that aviation security is essential for the growth of the country's aviation sector.
"We cannot afford to have a mistake," he said and added that passengers should stop carrying prohibited items as that will save time.
The Aviation Security Culture Week will be celebrated from July 31 to August 5.
BCAS has also asked airports not to display commercial advertisements on screens in the security check areas and those spaces should be used to provide information to passengers about prohibited items.
Hasan also stated that cyber threat is the biggest concern in the aviation security space.
He added that drone-based attacks are a significant threat and that the authorities are preparing to tackle the rising concern around drone attacks.
With the rising number of air passengers in the country, there is an urgent need to strengthen security measures, Hasan said at the event.
According to the latest data available from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), air traffic in India increased by 33 percent in the January-June period of 2023.
Without naming any specific airports, BCAS admitted that security areas have been encroached on by commercial in several airports. To cater to the increasing number of passengers, “commercial area [in airports] should be reduced and security area should be increased,” said Hasan.
He also added that there should be a prioritisation of air security information in airport waiting areas instead of advertisements for consumer goods. “We already mandated that security-related information should be shown to passengers during waiting time and not an ad for soap or something like that.”
The BCAS also reiterated its demand for the installation of CT X-ray devices and full-body scanners at airports to reduce the delay caused by the physical security frisking process. Earlier, the aviation security watchdog had asked all airports handling over 50 lakh passengers annually to install these devices by December 31, 2023.
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