Baggage check-in at International terminal gets cumbersome

TNN | Updated: Feb 8, 2018, 07:13 IST

 

 

Till now, international passengers did not have to scan their bags themselves as the terminal had four inline ... Read More

 

CHENNAI: International passengers may have to reach the airport earlier than usual and scan their check-in baggage separately before proceeding for check-in, as airport authorities are upgrading the inline scanning machines. 

Till now, international passengers did not have to scan their bags themselves as the terminal had four inline scanning machines which automatically scanned and routed bags to the airline counters. Now, departing travellers will have to scan luggages separately till the end of next month when the inline scanners will be operational again.
A senior official of Airports Authority of India (AAI) said three standalone scanners have been installed for passengers. "Of the four inline baggage scanning systems, two have been shut for upgrade. The upgrading of scanners is being done in phases to avoid inconvenience to passengers. This work will be completed by end of the month after which the other two inline scanners will be closed to install similar features," he added.
In a statement on Wednesday, AAI said passengers should report to the terminal in advance to prevent queues from delay in check-in procedure. To ease congestion, airport has banned visitor entry till all the inline scanners are ready.
After the upgrade, the machines will have multi-level screening of which the first level will be for explosive detection. The CT scans will provide a good image of contents, and if anything suspicious is found the bag will be automatically diverted for inspection. One machine will be able to scan 1,600 to 1,800 bags per hour.
The machines were procured six months ago at a cost of around Rs 40crore. "We had completed installing the conveyors. Work is on to install the scanners which will offer a precise view of contents. It is as per the new specifications issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)," said the official. There is also a plan to introduce inline scanning at the domestic terminal.