If you are accustomed to give the rules a go-by and carry more than one cabin baggage on a flight, you may not be able to do that any more.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which is in charge of security at airports, has demanded stricter implementation of the “one hand bag” policy.
In a letter to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the CISF’s IG for airports has written that as per rules framed by the former, “no passenger should be permitted to carry more than one hand bag. It has been seen that passengers on an average carry two or three hand bags to the screening point. This has led to increased clearance time as well as delays, congestion in PESC [pre-embarkation security check] point and inconvenience to passengers.”
The letter dated January 19, 2022 sought better implementation of the rule on hang bags.
The BCAS is the security regulator for the aviation sector.
The CISF has urged the BCAS to ensure airlines and airports take measures to implement the “one hand bag” rule. It has demanded that airlines be made responsible and asked to depute staff to check and verify the number of bags being carried by passengers before allowing them to proceed to the security check point.
It has also sought that airports be instructed to display information about the rule prominently.
“This is not a new rule. The CISF has only sought measures to ensure this rule is not flouted. Our aviation security circular permits only one hand bag [per passenger]. But certain personal items are exempted. These include ladies purse, laptop bags, umbrella, walking stick, camera or binoculars, reading material such as books, infant’s feeding aid, overcoat. Passengers will be allowed to carry these items in addition to one hand bag,” Jaideep Prasad, Joint Director-General, BCAS, told The Hindu.
The baggage policy laid down by various airlines clearly says that passengers will be allowed only one cabin baggage, and selected personal items. The hand bag can weigh between 7kg to 12kg depending on which airline you are flying and whether you are traveling in economy or business class. But this is openly flouted due to lack of poor oversight.
The one hand bag rule is not unique to India. Most global airlines allow passengers to carry only one carry-on bag, and a personal item. Airlines like Qatar and Singapore Airlines also allow their Business class passengers an additional piece of baggage.
