An eight-second screening using body scanner awaits those flying out from April 2020 from the Thiruvananthapuram international airport, classified as one of the 56 ‘sensitive airports’ based on security grounds in the country.
In all, six body scanners will be needed for the premier airport of the State to avoid the existing screening by the metal detectors and physical contact like frisking as directed by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). An eight-second full body scanning will enable the screening of 300 flyers an hour.
“Four body scanners will be installed in the T-II, the international terminal on the city side, and two in the T-1, the domestic terminal at Shanghumughom side, Airport Director C.V. Ravindran told The Hindu on Monday.
Of the four full body scanners to be installed in T-II much to the relief of the elite Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, two each will be for women and men. In the T-1, one body scanner each will be installed for women and men.
The devices with superior technology, to be procured by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for the airports managed by it in the country, will be installed in the pre-embarkation security check points. Once the body scanners are installed, the door frame metal detectors and hand held metal detectors can be avoided.
Those refusing to go through body scanners will be subjected to a full pat-down search by the CISF personnel who are entrusted with the security in the airports. Air travellers with medical conditions will also be exempt from screening by the body scanners. Instead, they will be screened using door frame metal detectors.
Body scanners will be able to detect both metallic and non-metallic items concealed on the body underneath clothing. The scanners are based on millimetre wave technology comprising non-ionising electromagnetic radiation. According to the SOP of the BCAS, these scanners will produce only an outline or a mannequin-like image for all genders. A yellow box will appear on the body image to highlight areas that may need further screening.
