Bengaluru: After sharp objects, lighters, liquids, aerosols and gels, talcum powder is the latest addition to the list of substances that are an absolute no-no in passenger handbags onboard flights in India. This new stricture has led to frequent scraps between flyers and airline staff at the Bengaluru airport, reports Petlee Peter.
According to an airline ground staff member posted at the KIA, while the rule restricting the carriage of talcum powder in cabbin baggage was introduced earlier this year, ignorance about this new stricture has caught many passengers on the wrong foot.
Incidents of flyers getting into arguments with airline and security staff and missing their flights after being denied boarding over their insistence to carry talcum powder in hand baggage have been reported in other airports across India.
Recently, there was an ugly scene at KIA when an elderly couple from Jayanagar 9th Block in Bengaluru arrived at the airport to board an Oman Air flight to Muscat. The woman passenger was carrying a small container of talcum powder in her handbag.
While pre-departure security screening by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel reportedly missed the powder container, the 62-year-old woman was intercepted by the airline's ground staff during a ladder-point security check on the aero bridge, just as she was about to board the flight.
"The passenger vehemently objected when our ground staff informed her she was not allowed to carry talcum powder as part of air safety rules. She turned hysteric and created quite a scene, threatening to sue us and the airline," a senior ground staffer at KIA said.
With the ministry of civil aviation prohibiting passengers from carrying powdery substances - including talcum powder and spices - onboard flights, airline ground staff have been told to strictly implement the "no check, no fly" rule.
The elderly couple was allowed to board the flight only after the woman agreed to abide by the rules.
15/07/2023 Times of India
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