India is evaluating data from full-body scanner trials at Bengaluru and Cochin airports as aviation security authorities consider expanding the technology to other airports, amid heightened attention to security following the Flydubai incident.
Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) Director General Rajesh Nirwan said the findings from the trials would help authorities determine the way forward for a wider rollout. Full-body scanners have already been mandated for eight airports as part of efforts to strengthen passenger screening.
Privacy built in
A key focus of the trials is passenger privacy. Instead of displaying an actual image of the person being screened, the technology is being refined to show a generic human model indicating the location where a potentially suspicious object has been detected.
The approach is intended to allow security personnel to identify areas requiring additional checks without generating detailed images of passengers. Authorities are examining the technology's performance under actual airport conditions before proceeding with wider deployment.
Indian conditions considered
BCAS is also working on improving the scanners' algorithms to account for items commonly worn by passengers in India. Jewellery, ornaments and mangal sutras can potentially generate unnecessary alerts if the detection system is not calibrated for local conditions.
Reducing such false alarms will be important to prevent unnecessary secondary screening and avoid slowing passenger movement at security checkpoints. The trials at Bengaluru and Cochin are expected to provide operational data on how effectively the scanners can distinguish routine personal items from objects requiring closer examination.
Rollout under evaluation
Full-body scanners are designed to detect objects concealed beneath clothing that may not always be identified through conventional screening methods. Their eventual deployment, however, will depend on their detection capabilities, passenger throughput, privacy safeguards and performance in Indian operating conditions.
The data gathered from the two airport trials will therefore play a key role in determining how the technology is configured and whether it can be expanded to additional airports without creating longer queues or intrusive screening procedures.