Legal notice seeks live CCTV coverage of baggage handling at airports
It alleged that ground-handling staff and loaders exploit inadequate surveillance and CCTV blind spots in runway and baggage-sorting areas to commit the thefts.
A Supreme Court lawyer has sent a legal notice to the government seeking live CCTV broadcasting of the entire baggage-handling process at all airports in Bangladesh to prevent theft and looting of passengers' luggage.
Supreme Court Advocate Md Mahmudul Hasan Mamun sent the notice today (5 October) in the public interest.
The notice was sent to the secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), managing director and chief executive officer of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and directors and managers of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Chattogram's Shah Amanat International Airport, Sylhet's Osmani International Airport, and the airports in Cox's Bazar, Saidpur, Rajshahi, Jashore and Barishal.
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The notice said airports are Bangladesh's sovereign gateways to the international community, but passengers, tourists, foreign diplomats, businesspeople and particularly expatriate workers have long faced luggage theft.
It alleged that an organised group regularly steals mobile phones, laptops, jewellery, cash and other valuables from locked luggage between unloading from aircraft and placement on conveyor belts.
The notice said such incidents cause financial losses and mental distress for passengers while damaging Bangladesh's international image. It also alleged that luggage theft violates the constitutional right to property under Article 42 and the right to life under Article 32.
It alleged that ground-handling staff and loaders exploit inadequate surveillance and CCTV blind spots in runway and baggage-sorting areas to commit the thefts.
To curb the alleged baggage theft syndicate, the notice called for full transparency in baggage handling. It proposed placing the entire process, from unloading bags from aircraft holds and loading them onto trolleys to transporting them across the ramp and placing them on conveyor belts, under high-quality CCTV surveillance, with live footage displayed on large screens in arrival lounges.
It also called for live camera broadcasts when customs or security agencies open or inspect passengers' luggage, with the footage displayed directly before the passenger.
The notice also criticised alleged corruption in airport worker recruitment, arguing that employees recruited through bribery or other irregularities could not be expected to maintain integrity and diligence.
It urged the ACC to strengthen oversight of the recruitment of airport loaders, ground-handling and security personnel and introduce a transparent, merit-based system.
The notice called on the authorities to take necessary administrative and legal measures within 10 days to introduce live CCTV broadcasts of baggage handling at all airports, ensure open luggage inspections and establish transparent recruitment under ACC oversight.
Failure to comply would lead to a public-interest writ petition before the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, it said.
