COVID-19: Passengers' boarding passes won't be stamped by CISF personnel at airports, says BCAS

The aviation security regulator BCAS said on Wednesday the CISF personnel would not be stamping any passenger's boarding pass anymore during the pre-embarkation security check (PESC) at airports.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), in an order accessed by PTI, said every airport operator will have to ensure that there are enough CCTV cameras at an appropriate height in the PESC area to record the identity of a passenger and his or her boarding pass.

More than 13 CISF personnel, who were posted at airports in Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, have tested positive for COVID-19 till date.

This order has been issued in view of the "prevailing situation of COVID-19 pandemic and countermeasures being taken to contain its spread by touch/contact", stated the BCAS.

All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended since March 25 when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to curb the coronavirus pandemic. However, repatriation flights, medical evacuation flights and cargo flights have been allowed to operate.

"It has been decided to dispense with the procedure of stamping the passengers' boarding pass that is being done by Aviation Security Group (ASG)/Airport Security Unit (APSU) after completion of PESC of the concerned passenger, till further orders," the order stated.

Both the APSU and the ASG are part of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides security at more than 60 airports across the country.

In its order to airports, airlines and other stakeholders, the BCAS said, "The airport operator shall ensure that the requisite monitoring system of high definition fixed CCTV Cameras and supporting infrastructure are maintained all through at PESC points at an appropriate height so that boarding pass of the passenger and his/her identity are digitally recorded."