New luggage checking system at Hyderabad airport is not meant for Indian bagsBANGALORE: Chutney powder is also called gun powder down South. But the hi-tech baggage checking system at Hyderabad’s new international airport seems to have taken the sobriquet literally.
The Austrian-made inline baggage system (IBS) identifies pickles as explosives but fails to detect weapons.
Last Thursday, a Delhi-bound flight had to make an emergency landing soon after takeoff because of smoke in the cargo hold. A probe revealed that the smoke had been produced by a leaking chemical, which, when later run through the IBS in a dummy check, was passed undetected. More tests revealed the system okayed certain explosives and guns, but barred pickles and condiments.
The IBS has been installed to ward off the threat posed by terrorists (it was installed at New York’s JFK airport after the September 11, 2001 attacks and later at London’s Heathrow) and also speed up the baggage loading process. Instead, it is causing bottlenecks.
“Less than 60% of baggage is being accepted because the IBS’ X-ray machine is rejecting chutney powder, pickles and other food items peculiar to India, identifying them as explosives,” an airport official said requesting anonymity. “The system is made for Western countries. It needs to be modified to suit India.”
Also, “the system checks baggage for all airlines at once. But the ground staff is facing problems segregating the luggage,” the official said.
“Though the IBS can process 1,500 bags at one go, it’s still a disadvantage.”
The IBS will be installed at airports in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolk-ata. “But with its faults, it will end up compromising passenger safety,” the official
added.
