How Passenger Baggage Is Scanned At Mumbai International Airport? Explained

Aviation Explained: We answer What happens to their baggage when they check in at the airport or what are the prohibited items one should not carry in their check in bags?

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Catching a flight through an airport is an exciting journey for an air passengers, as various steps are involved in making the travel, smooth and safe. A 24*7 security, starting right from the entry gate to baggage counter and boarding the flight ensures rogue incidents are minimized and passengers get a pleasant travel experience. In fact, thanks to its comprehensive security policies implemented by BCAS, a DGCA body, India is one of the safest nations to travel on a flight. The Adani Group-run Mumbai International Airport is not only one of the busiest domestic and international airports in India, but has an elaborate security arrangement. 

One of the aspects of this security arrangement is a thorough check up of the passenger as well as their baggage. Many people ask what happens to their baggage when they check in at the airport or what are the prohibited items one should not carry in their check in bags? Here's a detailed explainer explaining the baggage screening process at the Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

What happens to your bag after you check in at the airport?

Screening checked-in bags for potential threats is a critical aspect of safe air travel, and our In-Line Security team is at the forefront of ensuring safety of the passengers and the airport. The In-Line Security team’s job of baggage screening appears simple, but it is critical for the safety of the passengers and the airport. Here's what the in-line security does with your baggage:

1) Detecting and removing potential threats that could cause disaster is the main goal of the In-Line Security team.

2) The In-Line Security team ensures that no baggage reaches aircraft or restricted areas at the airport without having been checked rigorously beforehand.

3) All the In-Line Security team members are qualified and have experience of carrying out carry-on baggage screening by using equipment made available.

4) The highly efficient and experienced In-Line Security team undertakes the mammoth task of ensuring each bag is safe to put on the planes.

5) With their years of experience, the In-Line Security team members can detect any bag having suspicious items within few seconds and stop that bag from going on the aircraft.

6) The In-Line Security team at CSMIA ensures that the bags dropped at the airline security counters are screened, cleared, and reach the baggage handlers in approximately 10 minutes.

Advance mechanism at CSMIA for Check-in baggage

- The baggage system installed at CSMIA has a capacity to handle 9,600 bags per hour at T2 and 4800 bags per hour at T1

- Total length of the baggage belt is approximately 8 KMs

- The time taken by the bag from check-in counters to the airlines’ container is approx. 10 minutes

- Larger bags, guitar cases, bags holding sports equipment, fragile luggage and live animals go through the Super Out of Gauge (SOG) machines

- There is a separate elevator for bags that could damage the conveyor

- The baggage control room can trace any bag and its position in the system

- The bags are under CCTV coverage throughout the system

- The entire system is automated, and bags are not tampered by a human at any point of time

- Our experienced inline security team members screen each bag within just 20 to 30 seconds.  

Check-in baggage screening process at CSMIA

Step 1 - Passengers handover their Check-in bag at the airline counters. The airline representative sticks a barcode tag on the bag

Step 2 - The bag goes through an X-Ray, one level down, transported on blue conveyor belts

Step 3 - Eight X-Ray machines scan each bag and send it off. The In-Line Security team member receives the scanned X-Ray image and within 20 to 30 seconds he decides if the bag is clear to go ahead. CCTV cameras track each bag during this entire process

Step 4 - Once cleared by In-Line Security team member, the bags go through vertical separation. All the cleared bags are dropped down to a green conveyor belt whereas the suspicious bags go to the red line

Step 5 - The bags on the red belt pass through another round of screening by In-Line Security team members. If found suspicious, the owner is contacted and informed about the prohibited items in the bag which resulted in rejection

Step 6 – If the passenger is present at the airport, he/she must be physically present when the bag is opened. After the removal of prohibited items by In-Line Security team members, the bags are once again scanned and if cleared they join the remaining bags on green conveyor belt

- If the passenger is present at the airport but there is little time left for the flight to takeoff, then the airline representative will take the passenger to a dedicated facility from where the passenger via CCTV and Video Screens can see the prohibited item being removed from the bag by In-Line Security team members. After the removal of prohibited items, the bags are once again scanned and if cleared they join the remaining bags on green conveyor belt

- If the passenger has left the airport, he/she must give authorization to the respective airline staff to open the bag in presence of the In-Line Security team members and remove the prohibited items. In this case, passengers must wait till the respective airline sends the bag back to the destination

Step 7 – The bags travelling the green belt get on the tilt-trays belt, which tilts them into the final conveyor belt

Step 8 - The final conveyor belt that contained all the luggage dropped by the auto-separation belt

Step 9 - Porters load the bags into a container wagon and drive off to the aircraft.

Prohibited items in Check-in bags

Batteries spare/or loose, Power banks, lithium metal or lithium-ion cells: When damaged, short-circuited, or overheated, these batteries can catch fire inside the aircraft

Battery powered wheelchairs and mobility aids: These devices use have wet batteries, if damaged in transit the acid in the batteries can cause corrosion and malfunctioning of aircraft equipment

Compressed gas cartridges, cylinders lighters, e-cigarettes: These gases are highly flammable and if damaged during transit they might explode

Electronic devices which cannot be switched off: Such battery powered devices if not switched off can generate a lot of heat which can cause fire

Thermometer or barometer, medical equipment filled with mercury: If such devices are damaged during transit the mercury leaked out can spread all in the cargo area of the aircraft cause damage. Also, if mercury is spread inside the aircraft can cause corrosion and malfunctioning of aircraft equipment

Dry Coconut: The dry coconut contains a high amount of oil which is highly flammable and can cause fire if it encounters heat inside the aircraft

How quickly your bag reaches the Airplane?

In airport operations, time plays a very crucial role. Every minute lost in the process can cause a passenger to miss his / her flight. At Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), we make every effort to ensure that the passenger experience is seamless right from entering into the airport till the flight takes off. It takes just 20 to 30 seconds for the In-Line Security team members to scan each bag and they have to do this 100% accuracy to ensure safety.