The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the aviation security regulator, has instructed all seven Indian airlines to ensure that passengers receive their baggage within 30 minutes of landing at airports. This new rule is set to be enforced starting from February 26. The airlines affected by this directive include Air India, Indigo, Akasa, SpiceJet, Vistara, AIX Connect, and Air India Express.
BCAS decided to implement this rule after monitoring the baggage arrival times at six major airports in January, namely Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. These instructions were issued under the supervision of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
“In the course of the review process, the performance of every airline has been consistently monitored on a weekly basis, showing improvement over time. However, it still falls short of meeting the mandated standards. These standards dictate that the first baggage should reach the baggage belt within 10 minutes after the aircraft engine is shut off, and the last bag should be delivered within 30 minutes of the same,” stated the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Currently, surveillance remains ongoing at six major airports, as stated.
“Nevertheless, BCAS has instructed airlines to ensure that the mandated standards are met at all airports where they operate,” stated the ministry.
These stipulations are outlined in the Operation, Management, and Delivery Agreement (OMDA). The Airports Authority of India entered into these agreements with major airports such as Delhi and Mumbai approximately 20 years ago during privatization.
“The initiative to guarantee timely baggage delivery aims not only to expedite passenger clearance, thus creating room for incoming travelers in the hall, but also to enhance airport security,” stated a government official, according to the report.
