Deliver bags within 30 mins of landing, airlines directed

New Delhi, February 18

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has asked carriers to ensure that passengers get their baggage within 30 minutes of landing at airports.

The aviation security regulator has written to Air India, IndiGo, Akasa, SpiceJet, Vistara, AIX Connect and Air India Express in this regard, setting February 26 as the deadline to follow its directive.

The BCAS started an exercise to monitor the baggage arrival time at belts at six major airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru — in January following directions of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

“The performance of all airlines is being monitored on a weekly basis, and it has improved since the review began. However, it is not as per the mandate, which requires the first baggage to arrive at the belt within 10 minutes of shutting down of the aircraft engine and the last bag within 30 minutes,” the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement.

While monitoring is currently being done at six major airports, the BCAS has directed the airlines to ensure that the mandated levels are achieved at all airports where they fly.