BCAS orders airlines: Deliver baggage within 30 mins of landing

New Delhi: Your baggage should be delivered to you within 30 minutes after your flight lands. In an order, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has directed seven airlines to ensure that all baggage of passengers is delivered within 30 minutes of landing on a flight at an airport. The BCAS has directed the airlines to implement the required measures by February 26.

The directive was sent to seven scheduled airlines -- Air India, Indigo, Akasa, SpiceJet, Vistara, Air India Express Connect, and Air India Express -- against the backdrop of delays in passengers getting their baggage after the landing of a flight.

“Airlines to ensure that delivery of last baggage is made within 30 minutes for as per the Service Quality Requirements of Operation, Management and Delivery Agreement (OMDA),” the order said.

The BCAS also started the exercise of monitoring the time of arrival of baggage at belts in six major airports since January 2024. Officials said since the beginning of the review exercise, the performance of all airlines is being monitored on a weekly basis and has improved somewhat, but is still not as per the mandates. The mandates require the first baggage to arrive at the luggage belt within 10 minutes of shutting off the aircraft engine and the last bag within 30 minutes.

The monitoring is now being done at six major airports, However, the BCAS has directed the airlines to ensure that the mandated levels are achieved in all the airports where they fly.