Advance screening at India’s airports

Anyone who has made the trip to India in the past knows that though acquiring a Visa is always possible, there are a few hurdles to jump through before landing in the subcontinent. Everyone needs a visa to enter India, and before you can check in for a flight bound for India, you must produce the issued visa number. This doesn’t seem to be enough to secure numbers coming into the country, as a new report in the Gazette of India says from April, more advance screening will take place.

Starting from April, passengers arriving in the country at any of India’s six major airports, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Bangalore and Mumbai will be part of the Advance passenger Information System, where one’s personal details will be sent ahead of them to India.

The rules state that it is the airline leaving its origin that should supply the passenger information to Indian authorities less than 15 minutes after taking off for India. Immigration authorities on the other end would then have all the information they need to do…. whatever it is they plan to do with it.