new delhi air travellers could be spared the hassle of removing laptops from cabinhand bags at preembarkation security checkpoints pesc of busy indian airports by this yearend the bureau of civil aviation security bcas has ordered operators of all airports handling 50 lakh and more passengers annually to install 3d computed tomography xray ctx machines for cabin bag checks by december 31 2023 these machines do not require passengers to keep personal electronic devices ped chargers and liquids in separate trays something that has to be done with the current gen 2d xray scanners leading to a mad scramble for trayssimilarly bcas has set a yearend deadline for all hyper sensitive airports seeing a crore and more passengers annually to introduce full body scanners fbs adopting this long overdue technology which has seen several deadlines lapse since march 2020 due to covid will allow faster and more stringent security checks on flyers while its the first time a due date has been set for installing ctx the need for these two advanced technologies was badly felt last novemberdecember when terminals in india were chockablock with passengers with long queues everywherewhats more the bcas order stipulates all new nonrcs regional connectivity scheme airports that includes the upcoming ones at greater noida and navi mumbai airports must install ctx and fbs before the start of the operation itself timelines have been given for other smaller airports too said bcas sourcesctx will not only improve passenger experience at airports by speeding up pesc process but also improve detection of prohibited items and make security more robust we are in the process of introducing fbs at pesc this will enhance the capability of detecting nonmetallic threat objects like liquid gel or plastic contraband such as explosives and inflammable items that can be concealed on the body transportation of drugs can also be stopped with a full body scanner they will help avoid strip searches and invasive pat downs sources saidtoi sought comments from all airport operators in india about their plans for installing these technologies before the year end staterun airports authority of india says this is under consideration a spokesperson for bengaluru airport said the hub is currently working very closely with bcas and original equipment manufacturers oems on this matter and further details like the number of equipment required implementation timelines and cost will be made known in due course of timethe biggest private operators gmr group which runs delhi hyderabad moa goa and adani that runs seven including mumbai lucknow and ahmedabad apart from building navi mumbai airport did not comment on this issuesources say a body scanner roughly rs 1011 crore airports did not comment how they propose to recover the cost of installing fbs and ctxearlier this month thanks to ctx london city airport scrapped the 100ml liquid limit and allows electronics to remain in hand bags at security check travellers there can now carry on up to two litres of liquid and toiletries no