If you’re one of the thousands of people in Kuwait who fly home to India a few times a year, your next trip through Delhi, Mumbai or Kochi might take a little longer at security.
India’s Civil Aviation Ministry has approved full-body scanners for eight major airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Ahmedabad. Three airports already have the new machines installed, and the rest are expected to follow shortly.
The timing isn’t a coincidence. The announcement comes a day after an Indian pilot was attacked with a sharp instrument while trying to stop his co-pilot from allegedly attempting to crash a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, an incident that put aviation security under fresh scrutiny across the region.
The short version
- Full-body scanners are being installed at eight Indian airports: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Ahmedabad.
- Three airports already have the scanners; the other five should have them soon, according to the ministry.
- The scanners are designed to be “picture-agnostic”, showing a generic 3D outline rather than an actual body image.
- The move follows a cockpit attack on a flydubai flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv.
Does this affect expats in Kuwait?
Not directly in terms of rules changing for you in Kuwait, but it matters if you travel. A large share of Kuwait’s Indian community flies in and out of these eight cities for holidays, weddings, family visits and work. If your route goes through Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi or any of the other listed airports, you’ll likely pass through one of these scanners sooner or later.
For everyone else living in Kuwait, Indian or not, this is really a reminder that security checks at airports across the region are tightening after the flydubai incident, not something unique to India. If you’ve got a connecting flight booked through any of these cities, it’s worth building in a little extra time at security until the new system settles in.
How the scanners work, and why India designed them differently
Unlike older scanners that show a fairly detailed image of a passenger’s body, India’s Civil Aviation Ministry says the new machines are “picture-agnostic”. Instead of an actual image, the system generates a generic 3D representation, and only flags objects that look suspicious rather than displaying someone’s physical features.
The ministry has also said it’s developing algorithms specifically tuned to clothing commonly worn by Indian passengers, so that everyday garments aren’t repeatedly flagged as suspicious. Pilot projects run in the past apparently showed passengers weren’t entirely comfortable with full-body scanning, which is part of why this calibration work is happening now before the machines go fully live.
Officials say they’re still collecting and analysing data from the scanners already installed, to reduce errors before the system is rolled out everywhere.
What else is changing
Alongside the body scanners, India is also working on installing CTX (Computed Tomography X-ray) machines for baggage, which build 3D images of checked and hand luggage to better detect explosives. Technical standards for these are still being finalised with industry experts.
On the flydubai incident itself, Civil Aviation Ministry Secretary Samir Sinha said the government is monitoring the situation and reviewing the circumstances, and that senior officials will be briefed immediately if any new advisory or measures are needed.
Quick answers
Will this slow down my flight check-in in India?
Possibly, at least while the scanners are new and staff are still working through the process. The ministry itself says it’s still fine-tuning the system to cut down on errors.
Will the scanner show my body image to staff?
According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, no. The system is designed to generate a generic outline rather than an actual image, flagging only objects that look out of place.
Is this linked to new rules in Kuwait?
No. This is an Indian government measure for airports inside India. There’s no indication so far of any related change to security procedures at Kuwait International Airport.
If you’ve got a flight booked through Delhi, Mumbai or any of these eight airports in the coming weeks, it might be worth checking in a touch earlier than usual. Have you already been through one of the new scanners? Let us know how it went in the comments.