MUMBAI: One of the exasperating aspects of air travel, post landing at the destination airport, can be the long wait time at the baggage conveyor belt to get the check-in bags. That aspect has now come under government scrutiny as the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has ordered airlines to ensure that the first check-in bag arrives at the baggage carousel within 10 minutes of landing and the last one within 30 minutes. Airlines have been given ten days, up to February 26, to put measures in place to honour these deadlines.
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The clock would start when the aircraft engine is shut after a flight has landed and docked into a parking bay. The focus here is on the arrival time of the last check-in bag. “Airlines must ensure that delivery of last baggage is made within 30 minutes as per the Service Quality Requirements of Operation, Management and Delivery Agreement (OMDA),” said a press release, issued by the civil aviation ministry.
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Seven airlines including Air India, Indigo, Akasa, SpiceJet, Vistara, Air India Express Connect and Air India Express received BCAS letters about this directive on February 16, the ministry added.
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“BCAS started the continuous exercise of monitoring the time of arrival of baggage at belts of six major airports in January under the leadership of Union Minister of Civil Aviation & Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia. Since the beginning of the review exercise, performance of all airlines are being monitored on a weekly basis and have improved but are not as per the mandates,” the ministry said. “The above monitoring is currently being done at six major airports, However, BCAS has directed the airlines to ensure that the mandated levels are achieved in all airports where they fly,” it added.
