Indian airports to deploy biometric card readers for employee access control

India’s Bureau for Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) will launch a biometric pass system to keep track of airline crew members, security personnel, luggage handlers and other staff in 2019, a government official told the Hindustan Times.

Airport staff currently carry plastic ID cards, and use them along with alphabetical codes to access restricted areas, but the installation of biometric card readers has already begun at some airports, according to the official.

“Under the new system, the doors and access points will be released only to authorized personnel. Each entry/exit will be logged centrally for future reference,” the anonymous civil aviation ministry official said. “The system is able to generate any level of information required on the persons available in the building at any given point of time.”

An official also said that more of the biometric units must be deployed by airport operators to roll out the system, and that the BCAS plans to eventually mandate long range radio frequency readers to identify vehicles entering restricted areas.

A pair of security incidents involving an airport staff and a pilot in the U.S. prompted the TSA to issue a special bulletin on insider threats earlier this month.

Article Topics

airport biometrics  |  biometrics  |  identity verification  |  India