The security of airports in India is the responsibility of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The bureau was set up on the recommendation of the Pande Committee after an Indian Airlines flight was hijacked in September 1976. Since then there has been a lot of improvement in the functioning of airports (at least international airports).
However, if you look at the proper functioning of an Indian airport you would realize that there exist a lot of procedures, which are redundant. The next time you go to any airport in India, just pay attention to the number of times your tickets with ID is checked. It is checked about three to four times depending on the airport. This is done probably for security reasons, but in India, tickets are checked even at the entrance. No other nation does that. It also means that your loved ones will have to bid you farewell outside the airport as they are not allowed to enter. This might be because in India we have a culture of an entire family coming over to see off guests, resulting in overcrowding. Hence, checking of tickets might be a redundant activity in Indian Airports but it could be looked upon as a crowd management activity.
Two major gaps or flaws during the security check-in procedure in India could be:
- Metal Detectors: At foreign airports the person is frisked using a hand scanner only after the person gets-off the metal detector. However, in India, the metal detectors are usually either switched off or act as mere doorways.
- Shoes and other items: It is rare in our country to check shoes during the security check-in. At other international airports your shoes might also be scanned. At foreign airports, liquids are usually not allowed during check-in, however, in many Indian airports people can be seen carrying such items.
