Delhi Airport to install full-body scanners and CTX machines by May next year | Details
Full-body scanners are capable of identifying concealed prohibited items beneath clothing, offering a means to locate such objects effectively.
Delhi Airport is set to have full-body scanners in place by May 2024, as reported by PTI news agency citing a senior official. Additionally, Computed Tomography X-ray (CTX) machines, allowing passengers to keep electronic items in their hand baggage during security checks, are also expected to be operational by the same time.
"We expect the full body scanners and X-ray machines to come in May...," Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) Director General Zulfiquar Hasan was quoted as saying by PTI.
Hasan noted that the deadline for implementing full-body scanners at airports with over 10 million annual passengers and CTX machines at those with over 5 million passengers is currently being extended. Earlier, the deadline for installing the full body scanners and CTX machines at airports was given as December 31.
During a briefing in the national capital, he acknowledged some challenges in provisioning and mentioned ongoing discussions with airport operators regarding the scanner installations.
What can full-body scanners do?
-Full-body scanners can identify concealed prohibited items beneath clothing, offering a means to locate such objects effectively.
-Unlike the widespread use of metal detectors in airports for security screening, these scanners can detect not only metallic items but also non-metallic substances like explosives.
-The newest versions of these scanners prioritise the privacy of individuals undergoing screening by not displaying detailed body images to the operator. Instead, they present a generic body outline with highlighted suspicious areas, ensuring anonymity.
-Upon detection of suspicious areas, security personnel can conduct additional checks on those specific body regions using alternative methods, such as a physical pat-down search.
CTX (Computer Tomography X-ray)
X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) serves as a non-invasive method to visualise internal structures within solid items, offering digital data on their 3-D shapes and characteristics, according to a research journal from Carleton College.
A CT image, often referred to as a slice, mirrors how the scanned object would appear if it were cut along a specific plane. Think of it akin to slicing a loaf of bread, where the thickness of each bread slice corresponds to the thickness of a CT slice representing the object. While a regular digital image is made up of pixels, a CT slice comprises voxels, which are volumetric elements.
To extend the analogy further, just as stacking slices recreates the original loaf of bread, a complete 3-D representation of an object is formed by gathering a continuous set of CT slices.
Delhi Airport's passenger traffic to cross 70 million by March
The Delhi airport stands as the nation's largest, with an expected surge in passenger traffic exceeding 70 million by the end of the fiscal year in March 2024. With the implementation of CTX (Computer Tomography X-ray) scanners, passengers will not need to remove their electronic devices from their bags during airport security checks.
BCAS plans to roll out the full body scanners gradually in different phases.
Last year, BCAS recommended adopting computer tomography-based scanners at airports, allowing passengers to bypass the process of taking out electronic devices from their carry-on bags before scanning. Currently, passengers are required to remove electronic items and place them in separate trays during airport security checks.
The current scanners utilised at airports offer a two-dimensional view of items inside carry-on bags. So the installation of CTX scanners is anticipated to streamline and expedite the airport security screening process.
As per the latest official data, domestic airlines transported over 138.2 million passengers from January to November 2023.
(With PTI inputs)