"Told To Remove Shirt, Humiliating": Woman Alleges Bengaluru Airport Ordeal

A woman musician has alleged that she was asked to remove her shirt during security check at Bengaluru airport, describing the experience as "really humiliating". She made the allegation in a post from her Twitter account, now deactivated.  

The Bengaluru airport authorities have said the issue has been highlighted to the operations and security teams. Security at the airport is handled by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The musician made the allegation in a Twitter post last evening, "I was asked to remove my shirt at Bengaluru airport during security check. It was really humiliating to stand there at the security checkpoint wearing just a camisole and getting the kind of attention you'd never want as a woman. @BLRAirport Why would you need a woman to strip?" she wrote. The post was deleted this morning. Her account was deactivated soon after.  

The Bengaluru airport's official Twitter handle said in response to the woman's post that "this should not have happened" and requested her to share her contact details so that they can reach out to her.

"We deeply regret the hassle caused and this should not have happened. We have highlighted this to our operations team and also escalated it to the security team managed by CISF (Central Industrial Security force) a Government sovereign," it said in a now-deleted Twitter reply. 

Problems during security checks at airports have been a big talking point of late. As travel restrictions were lifted after two years of the Covid pandemic, airports were swamped with tourists setting off for a vacation. Last month, Delhi and Bengaluru airports witnessed chaotic scenes and long queues as passengers complained of delays at immigration counters and a harrowing experience during security check. 

A source from the Bengaluru airport had then told NDTV that the CISF is short-staffed. "Bengaluru airport has no control over it. It's the CISF who should manage it well. We have been lending support. The support can be given only to some extent. The CISF is short-staffed, and the immigration is managed by the central authorities," the source had said.

Aviation security watchdog Bureau of Civil Aviation Security has said that they are getting new scanners and passengers will no longer need to remove laptops, phones and chargers for luggage screening. This, the regulator has said, will ensure quicker security checks and decongest busy airports.