The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has asked airport operators at the Jammu, Srinagar and Ayodhya airports to install full-body scanners (FBS) on priority, even as a three-month trial of the scanners is underway at four airports, including New Delhi, officials aware of the matter said. The government has also planned to install nine such certified full-body scanners at the Parliament House premises.
An official, who asked not to be named, said that while the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has asked airports, which handle over five million passengers annually, to use the technology, operators at Srinagar, Ayodhya and Jammu have been directed to get it on priority due to the sensitivity of the airport. The Ayodhya airport was inaugurated on December 30, 2023, and flight operations started on January 10, 2024. Because of its location and passenger movement for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, it has been tagged a hypersensitive airport.
“Last month, full-body scanners (FBS) were installed at airports in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin. It is part of a three-month trial where every passenger going through the pre-embarkation security point is scanned. FBS enhances threat detection capabilities by identifying both metallic and non-metallic objects. Currently, CISF personnel are frisking passengers even after they go through FBS. The deployment of FBS will lead to enhanced security, while reducing the need for physical frisking and also saving time for passengers,” the officer said, adding that the force at these airports is sending reports on the FBS every week.
“The outcome of the three-month trial will guide future policy decisions. Before the trial, the ministry had already specified the safety standards so that there would not be any ionising radiation, checked with dosimeters and be cyber secure. The scanners are capable of scanning at least 180 passengers in an hour,” the officer said.
Before adopting FBS scanners at the four airports, BCAS had issued an SOP for its usage while guarding privacy safeguards and operational efficacy.
CISF cover at Safdarjung airport
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, CISF took over the security of the Safdarjung airport, marking it the 73rd airport to be provided the federal agency’s cover. Operating as a non-scheduled airport, it serves as a primary hub for helicopter transit and flights for top government officials. A team of 136 specialised commandos took over the security cover.
People aware of the matter said that on March 20, 2026 after an airport security review meeting under home secretary Govind Mohan, the MHA had said that the security of all hypersensitive airports would be given to CISF.
A second officer aware of the matter said, “In a second meeting chaired by the home minister, Amit Shah, on April 12, authorities were directed to ensure that all hypersensitive airports get CISF at the earliest. After Safdarjung, it will be airfields in Leh and Bhuj. There are over a dozen such vulnerable airports identified.”
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