Full body scanners will be deployed at airports in a phased manner and the process is expected to start at major airports within a year, BCAS chief Zulfiqar Hasan has confirmed. He stressed the fact that there will not be any privacy issues as those have already been sorted out worldwide. He also said that there will be options for passengers who have health issues in case they cannot use such scanners.
At a briefing in the national capital, Hasan said BCAS has given a deadline but there are procurement cycle issues as airport operators get these machines from the same two or three vendors around the world. To begin with, full body scanners will be deployed at major airports like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. BCAS, last year, recommended installation of scanners based on computer tomography technology at airports whereby passengers will not be required to take out electronic devices from their hand baggage before going through the scanner.Currently, the scanners used at airports provide a two-dimensional view of the objects inside hand baggage.