CHENNAI: Officials are gearing up to install full body scanners at the city airport after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) set a timeline for installing the machines at 84 sensitive airports in the country.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is in charge of security check and screening of passengers, will soon study availability of space and identify locations before a tender is floated to procure the machines.
A senior CISF official said that they had been informed about the plan to install body scanners at Chennai airport. “A study will be done to assess the space and location to install them. Scanners and frisking booths take up space in the security area. So we will study the area to find out where it can be placed and used,” he said. It would take a few more months for the complete installation. “We may start with a few trials before it is made standard in security check,” he added.
The BCAS has worked out the procedures and officials have also tried out the machines to customise them for the conditions prevailing in the country. As privacy concerns are raised because the millimetre wave technology can produce an image of people with body contours, the BCAS has decided to use filters. The image of a common mannequin will only appear on the screen of the personnel in charge of scanning, showing if the passenger is carrying risky items including non-metallic objects. Since a filter is going to be used, there will be no need to monitor the scanner from a remote location as is done at airports abroad, an official said.
Another official said there were already trained people to handle the machines and they would be posted to man them. “There may not be a need for training as CISF personnel are trained to spot suspicious items on conventional scanners. The body scanner will make scanning faster and a pat-down check will be done on passengers only if the machine highlights anything suspicious,” he added.
The demand to speed up security check has been increasing as long queues and delay in screening irk passengers at the airport. Airlines often advise passengers to reach early to avoid congestion at security check. The airport handles around 118 flights in the morning and evening peak hours. Chennai is listed as a hypersensitive airport along with other metro airports.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is in charge of security check and screening of passengers, will soon study availability of space and identify locations before a tender is floated to procure the machines.
A senior CISF official said that they had been informed about the plan to install body scanners at Chennai airport. “A study will be done to assess the space and location to install them. Scanners and frisking booths take up space in the security area. So we will study the area to find out where it can be placed and used,” he said. It would take a few more months for the complete installation. “We may start with a few trials before it is made standard in security check,” he added.
The BCAS has worked out the procedures and officials have also tried out the machines to customise them for the conditions prevailing in the country. As privacy concerns are raised because the millimetre wave technology can produce an image of people with body contours, the BCAS has decided to use filters. The image of a common mannequin will only appear on the screen of the personnel in charge of scanning, showing if the passenger is carrying risky items including non-metallic objects. Since a filter is going to be used, there will be no need to monitor the scanner from a remote location as is done at airports abroad, an official said.
Another official said there were already trained people to handle the machines and they would be posted to man them. “There may not be a need for training as CISF personnel are trained to spot suspicious items on conventional scanners. The body scanner will make scanning faster and a pat-down check will be done on passengers only if the machine highlights anything suspicious,” he added.
The demand to speed up security check has been increasing as long queues and delay in screening irk passengers at the airport. Airlines often advise passengers to reach early to avoid congestion at security check. The airport handles around 118 flights in the morning and evening peak hours. Chennai is listed as a hypersensitive airport along with other metro airports.
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