Domestic and international passengers will not have to face the hassle of getting luggage tags stamped by security personnel at seven major airports as the Centre has decided to discontinue the practice from April 1.
“The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has decided to dispense with the stamping of hand-baggage tags at seven major airports with effect from April 1. These airports are Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi and Ahmedabad,” the CISF said in a statement here on Thursday.
Security upgrade
When Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju announced the plan in February, the CISF was wary of its immediate implementation, raising security concerns. “Appropriate measures have been taken to upgrade the security system to adopt this new system for the convenience of passengers,” the CISF said. The new system will help to speed up security check and give CISF personnel more time for checking suspected luggage, it said.
Earlier, all hand baggage pieces were required to carry a tag which is stamped by security personnel once they go through the security scanner at airports. This practice, followed since 1992, caused passengers inconvenience at times as those who did not have the stamped tags were asked to go back to the counter.
The stamping will continue at other airports and will be done away with after adequate security is in place.
