It was a secretive and low-key trip this writer and mid-day photojournalist Shadab Khan were invited to follow—the journey of our checked-in baggage to the airplane—and we went along for the ride. The bags are handled in the heart of the airport, and we had to undergo rigorous screening by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to get there. The procedure started a few days in advance where we had to submit our Aadhar card and a photograph for identification and for the airport authorities to make a permit pass. This permit pass acted like our passport throughout the journey. Despite being with the officials and wearing an ‘Observer’ safety vest, we had to show our permit card to the CISF at all times. Though we were legitimately invited by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) to observe the process, we felt a bit weird about being in the airport without a ticket. 

Inline screening, baggage operations and terminal operations officials took us through the process. After this experience, we learnt two things—one that our bag is not tampered by a human at any point of time and second is that it takes a maximum of 15 minutes for the entire bag to be screened and be ready for loading in the arlines’ container.