No tagging of cabin baggage at KIA for a week

Pilot project seeks to smoothen check-in process for domestic passengers

The check-in process just got easier at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here. As part of a Bureau of Civil Aviation Safety (BCAS) move, KIA has done away with cabin baggage tagging for a week starting Thursday. The rule, implemented as a pilot, applies only to domestic passengers.

This is what the rule implies: You head straight to the airline counter and check in your baggage. But no tag will be attached to the cabin baggage.

For at least one week, passengers need not worry about getting the tags stamped at the security gate.

Unstamped tags have been a nightmare when airline staff spot them at the boarding gates. Passengers are often asked to rush back to the security gates to get the tags stamped barely minutes before the boarding gates close.

“We are already getting a positive feedback from travellers who feel the check-in process has become smoother,” an airport spokesperson told DH.

If BCAS seeks an extension of the rule, KIA is prepared, said the official. However, it is not immediately clear when the process will be regularised and extended to international airlines.  

Besides KIA, the pilot project has also been launched at the Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad airports. Once the project results are out, BCAS is expected to extend the facility to other airports as well. To strengthen the security screening of baggage, BCAS is also adopting high resolution CCTV cameras and other appropriate technologies.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which handles airport security, had recently decided to stop tagging of hand baggage and boarding passes.

The system, unique to Indian airports, was first introduced in 1992. The objective of doing away with tags is to make the airport experience more hassle-free and convenient for passengers without compromising on security.

Self bag-drop at Mumbai airport

Meanwhile, Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has become the first in India to introduce self bag-drop facility for passengers. Communications and IT solution provider, SITA’s Scan&Fly bag drop units have been deployed throughout the airport.

This allows passengers, who have already checked in online, to quickly tag and drop their baggage before heading directly to the gate. The units are currently available to passengers of Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, GoAir and Indigo.

A SITA statement informs that currently, 54% of passengers in India use some self-service technology. However, given Indian travellers’ propensity to use technology, this rate is expected to rise sharply over the next few years.