Bengaluru: A flyer at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Monday raised serious concerns over hygiene and called for dedicated trays for placing shoes at airport security check-in.
Using the hashtag #HygieneMattersBIAL, Anand Nichani, MD of Magniflex India, posted on X: “The same trays that carry our muddy shoes are used for our personal items at airport security! This is NOT okay! @BLRAirport, it’s time to make dedicated trays for shoes MANDATORY for a cleaner & more pleasant experience for everyone! Who’s with me? (sic)”
Explaining his point further, Nichani told TOI: “I was flying from Bengaluru to Delhi in the morning when an incident caught my attention.As I waited at the security check-in, the passenger ahead of me placed his muddy shoes on one of the trays. Once he emptied the tray, it was returned to the common tray stand. These trays are neither cleaned nor sanitised regularly, they are simply recycled to keep up with the flow of passengers.”
He added: “I had to place my shoes on the same tray, and it struck me how unhygienic this practice was. These trays can become breeding grounds for germs, especially during the rainy season.” “Bengaluru boasts of one of the finest airports in the country, but such practices are simply unacceptable,” he opined.
Officials’ response
Responding to his tweet, airport officials clarified: “Hygiene and passenger experience are top priorities for us. That is why we’ve kept dedicated shoe trays adjacent to all the X-ray [machines] for ease.” However, Nichani disagreed with this explanation. Many netizens also echoed his concern, saying they have never noticed designated shoe trays during their travel.
Ryana Peters, a netizen, said: “Providing separate trays for items like shoes and other belongings is a basic necessity. This is clearly a hygiene issue.” Aashna Kaney, another netizen, added: “This is so unhygienic and hazardous for health! We need to mandate separate trays for shoes.”
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