In response to a directive from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), airlines and airport operators are now permitted to allow passengers on delayed flights to return to the terminal. This will provide much-needed relief to travelers, especially during the winter months when thick fog frequently traps fully boarded aircraft in departure lines.Airports will now have to arrange for passengers who return to the terminal to undergo another frisking before being permitted to board the aircraft. This closes a crucial security loophole that has caused airlines to be hesitant to permit passengers to disembark.According to BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan, the guidelines were issued to airlines and airport operators on March 30 and are now in force.Hasan also said that the move will ensure that passengers are less harassed and they are not bound to sit inside the aircraft for long hours after boarding the flight. Passengers will be allowed to disembark via the relevant airports departure gate in the event of protracted aircraft delays and other emergencies.Hasan stated, Airport operators have to make arrangements for the infrastructure, including for screening, for implementing the guidelines, adding that the airlines and relevant security agencies will decide whether to deny passengers.However, the directive does not specify the number of passengers who can be made to wait in the plane before they must be taken back to the airport.Its also unclear how it will deal with another problem that causes people to become stuck in airplanes: normally, airlines dont discharge people since flights arent added to the departure queue until the doors are closed. A flight will lose its place in the queue if passengers are deplaning, which might be problematic when several planes have been delayed due to, for example, fog.
