Officials have announced that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has withdrawn a tender for the procurement of 131 body scanners, citing “administrative reasons.” The AAI had issued the global tender on July 6, 2023, but it has been canceled for the time being. However, the AAI remains confident and plans to invite the tender again in the near future.
This is not the first time such a tender has been withdrawn. In 2020, the AAI had also issued a tender for 198 advanced full body scanners, but it was later withdrawn for similar administrative reasons. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), India’s security regulator, has highlighted the need for body scanners at around 84 hyper-sensitive and sensitive airports in the country, as walk-through and handheld metal detectors cannot detect non-metallic weapons and explosives.