Know your baggage handlers now

Mumbai: Tracking baggage loss or knowing how well it is handled could soon become simple, as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working out a system to track baggage handling and make it known to flyers.
Unlike the internationally accepted practice, flyers in India are still devoid of information pertaining to baggage loss. "Just like air passengers are now aware of the on-time performance of airlines, they will soon have data on baggage handling. Passengers must know everything," director general DGCA, Dr Naseem Zaidi said.
However, the ministry of civil aviation wants the system to be foolproof. "In the on-time performance chart, the DGCA noticed some errors," a ministry official said. He added that the number of delays reported by the airline was actually lower than that reported by air traffic control.
Dr Zaidi said that the DGCA was working towards ensuring that there was no discrepancy between what the airline claimed and what the other agencies said. A quarter of air passengers sampled by a leading television news channel in March 2008 survey believed that baggage loss and its handling were a serious concern.
Data available with an aviation historian Henry Holden shows that the only advantage of heightened security is that airlines pay more attention to passenger baggage.
09/08/09 Aditya Anand/MiD DAY

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Categories: Airports Aug 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2009