The introduction of CTX machines in Indian Airports
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has ordered the operators of all Indian airports handling over 50 lakh passengers annually to install 3D-computed tomography X-Ray (CTX) machines for cabin baggage screening by December 31, 2023.
The introduction of CTX machines will mean that passengers will not be required to keep their personal electronic devices, chargers, liquids, etc., in separate trays. Currently, the screening is done by 2D X-Ray scanners that give a two-dimensional image of the objects in your bag. That means more trays are required per passenger, leading to a slowing down of the screening process.
Per current statistics, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad will be some of the airports making the cut for installing these machines. New airports such as Greater Noida and Navi Mumbai must install the upgrades before the start of the operation itself.
CONCLUSION
The Indian Aviation Security Regulator, BCAS, has mandated that the big airports in India (in terms of customer handling) purchase and install new baggage screening machines which use the CTX technology by the end of December 2023. However, it remains to be seen if this will happen, as earlier security upgrades have yet to go through and have seen a rolling delay for the past three years.
