Inline baggage scan snag: For 8 hrs, airport returns to pre-Cov era
Times of India | 11 March 2025
Kolkata: Passengers carrying registered baggage had to queue up to scan their luggage on Monday as the inline baggage screening system (ILBS) developed a snag in the morning and remained out of order till around 5 pm. The additional queue to get the luggage X-rayed at stand-alone machines before they could again queue to deposit the luggage at the check-in counters left flyers hassled. However, airport officials said the snag — which affected all airlines — did not lead to flight delays.
Airport officials said a server crash around 8.24 am, just when the morning rush hour was getting over, sent airport staff and airline ground crew scrambling to start the X-ray machines in the airport arrival hall for scanning bags. Airlines sent out advisories, alerting passengers about longer wait times at check-in and baggage collection.
In the usual system, passengers deposit the bags at the check-in counter, which then travel through conveyor belts to the automatic scan machine in the airport basement. Only when a red flag is raised is a bag segregated and images of the contents checked by airline security personnel. But with ILBS inoperative on Monday, the baggage had to be manually scanned by airline security officers before being cleared for depositing at the check-in desks. The bags had to then be manually carted to an elevator to take them down to the basement where they were segregated and loaded on trolleys to transport them to planes.
Speaking to TOI, airport director Pravat Ranjan Beuria said the ILBS team alerted them that the Computed Tomography X-Ray (CTX) — a technology used for baggage screening that utilises 3D imaging to detect explosives and other threats — server was down and that the baggage handling system (BHS) wasn't operating from all portals. "Immediately, all stand-alone X-ray machines were operationalized for baggage screening. We deployed additional personnel, and airport officials put in extra manpower as the operation was shifted to the manual mode," Beuria said.
"Security officials monitored the baggage loading at the basement, and, by 10.13 am, all portals except C were started in conveyor mode," Beuria said. "No flights were delayed."
IndiGo, which operates 58% of Kolkata airport's air traffic, was quick to send out text messages to flyers, alerting them about the snag. "Please be advised that due to a temporary baggage belt failure at Kolkata airport, you may experience slightly longer wait times at check-in and baggage collection upon arrival. Our dedicated teams are working diligently to expedite the process and assist customers on the ground, ensuring service continuity. We are actively coordinating with our airport partners to resolve the issue as quickly as possible," the advisory stated.
The ILBS — which allows flyers to drop their luggage at check-in counters without getting them scanned at stand-alone X-ray machines — became operational in Feb 2020. Each machine can scan 600 bags per hour. In the absence of ILBS for a large part of Monday, the wait to get bags checked stretched up to 20-25 minutes during peak hours.
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