The CISF, responsible for airport security across the country, is mulling to procure modern 3D CT scanners that will save passengers from the hassle of taking out laptops and electronic gadgets for screening before boarding an aircraft, a senior official said Wednesday.
According to the official, such scanners are made in countries such as the USA and Israel, and a few international airports across the globe deploy them for passenger baggage screening.
At present, airline passengers in the country are required to take out their laptops and other electronic gadgets from their cabin baggage and place them separately in the x-ray scanner when they get themselves frisked.
No Indian civil airport has 3D CT scanners and the screening of cabin bags is done using x-ray scanning machines.
The official said a broad demonstration of the latest 3D imaging technology, on the lines of the computed tomography (CT), was made during a two-day 'International Aviation Security Seminar' that was organised by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) here, the official said.
Such a scanner will save the effort put in by CISF personnel for screening and it will subsequently allow them in better profiling a suspicious passenger as time would be saved in separately scanning the electronic items.
This will also speed up security checks and reduce queues at large airports that handle heavy passenger traffic, the official said.
CISF Director General Rajesh Ranjan confirmed that the force has expressed its willingness to have a field demonstration of the gadget so that its utility can be gauged at Indian airports.
"Such gadgets not only greatly enhance the competence of frisking staff to detect an undesirable item that is hazardous from the aviation security point of view, it also works to reduce hassles of passengers," the DG told PTI.
The measure to procure the new gadget is part of the forces' plan to induct smart technology that will not only facilitate quick passenger travel but also not compromise on security.
Since last year, the CISF has also initiated a project to do away with cabin baggage tags for passengers and this new system is currently operational at 49 civil airports out of the 60 that the force secures.
The two-day 'International Aviation Security Seminar' was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday and participants from 18 countries and airlines are attending it.
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