Security Lapse at New Hyderabad Airport

mohdkareem

Im writing the same story I wrote to the Hyderabad Airport authorities. I guess nobody is bothered.

Ive travelled many times through many airports in India and abroad, domestic international, air travel is not new to me. At every airport, domestic or international departure, the most basic thing that happens to you as soon as you enter the airport is to have your luggage screened through the xray machine. Does anyone disagree?

This part of security screening is the most important because the luggage bags go it the cargo/luggage compartment in a plane. Any explosives in luggage baggage can risk bringing a plane down.

The new hyderabad airport has no such facility for domestic departure. Ive travelled more than 2 times with luggages and just checked in with no xrays done on any of my luggage bags. I was stunned, appauled and shrill of shivers ran through my spine... How can this happen in a sophisticated new airport. Whatever explaination I get on this is not going to suffice until I see Xray screening of luggage baggages done!

The only Xray screening is after you get a boarding pass.. they screen your hand baggage which you take into the cabin. This level of security is not enough.

Some crazy terrorist can Fill a bag with explosives and timing device and boom... at this stage when our country is not safe with multiple terrorist attacks in recent years, this is my concern as a citizen of India.

I dont know if this post is going to ring any bells, but something is not just right...

karuna

Me. In many airports worldwide, your luggage is x-rayed in private, after you have checked it in. It's perfectly normal. If you fly out of London you'll have the same. In fact, the new Delhi airport has this system- no x-ray before check-in anymore.

If there's anything odd in your bags, you will be paged over the tannoy and asked to come and open your luggage.

In short, your luggage IS being checked, just behind the scenes, after you've checked in and gone to drink coffee and read the paper!

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OceanTragic

Me too.

At Karuna pointed out, luggage is not visible x-rayed at Delhi - like it used to be.

In fact I wasn't asked if I packed the cases myself nor was I asked if I was carrying any other the banned items.

There was a facility to get your cases wrapped, by why bother, surely that's got to cause more suspicion that it's worth.

nayan

Well it seems you are not as well travelled as you would like to think.
This is very common in most large international airports outside India. Indian airports were stuck in the 1960s. Only now the new/renovated airports are starting to look and feel like something 'modern'.

As karuna and Oceantragic says - the baggage screening occurs at the backend, reducing inconvenience(another queue) to the passengers.

Nick-H

Yes... I'm used to having my bags x-rayed on departure from Chennai, but not before checking at Heathrow.

I was at Chennai Airport Cargo departure one day last week. everything there was going through X-ray machines prior to despatch. We were sending a dog to her Human in Sungapore; they did not x-ray the dog, but they did scan the cage, even though it really looked as empty as it was!

Haylo

Yes, me.

Now Delhi international airport has finally been modernised, xrays are carried out in private, exactly the same as in all other developed countries.

Exactly! That is precisely why, in all modern airports, xrays are now carried out in private. With xraying done in the public space, anyone can slip a bomb into a zipped outside pocket (which cannot be sealed as there's often only one zip) after the baggage has had seals put on the main compartment.

Because it IS a sophisticated new airport!

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Nick-H

I hope this feedback makes mohdkareem feel better about the new airport. It will be interesting to know if he gets any response from the authorities.

karuna

It's like an echo-chamber in here. Me! And me! Me too! I'm Spartacus!

The basic message, OP, is: DON'T PANIC.

Nick-H

Hal

That weird system where you have to take you luggage to a stand where they have the X-Ray machine adjacent to the check in queue is something I've only seen in India. Most places have the x-ray machines and bomb and drug sniffer dogs going over your luggage out of sight.

The thing I hate most about it is the touts who hang around it and try to grab your bags, and lift them onto the machine for a tip.

RPG

After 9/11 many US airports went to a similar system for a while. You checked in first, your luggage was tagged, and then you had to take the luggage to the TSA where they fed it into their machine in full view. Sometimes they needed to open it and I would get to watch.

In Chicago, it is only within the last couple of years that the X-raying has gone into hiding.

But it is true that we've never had to attach tags to hand luggage and get them rubber-stamped and then the illegible rubber stamp checked twice or three times.

Hello Mumbai

It's true. How it is now days. When you mention "dog" it remands me of Bangkok Hilton movie (yes, that's right, with that yummy Nicole Kidman?) with some sniffer dog going over luggage at airport. Which year is this movie from? Many years back I think.

Anyway I was little chocked on my departure from Mumbai with x-ray before checking in and just before main entrance. People could go past whiteout do any x-ray scan if it was lots of people around. I know I had that chance many time as I sat beside it and main entrance few hours before it was time to check in. One or two time I even go past half way in and back again (before I understood there was some dude with x-ray just beside main entrance).

It look too weird e verything and I start to wonder about security and even get worried as I usually hate to flight. It wasn’t better inside either as people want tip and some guard let me in to some room inside a toilet for smoke.

Later I think maybe there was some hidden x-ray procedure after all, after checking in all baggage?

If not, it is big problem, specially with all terrorist attack in Mumbai (and other places ) time to time.

wonderwomanusa

When I left Kolkata in January, a policewoman "wanded" me and then patted me in various places for a security search.

"Show me what's in your pocket," she asked, when patting my right hip. I showed her my ragged wad of emergency loo paper.

But she never patted my left hip, which contained a bag of rupees (coins and bills) which did NOT make the wand beep. Sheesh, I could have had ANYTHING in that pocket and she'd never have known it.

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Nick-H

It's like doctors washing their hands between patients in hospitals. To do it properly and effectively would take too much time. Most "security" is just for show, and, maybe, as a deterrent, because those with something to hide can't be sure that the staff won't ask about that particular pocket.