How do Indian airports handle security WRT turbans?

Factual Questions
1

After a recent incident in which a Canadian diplomat was asked to remove his turban during a security check at a US airport, I got to wondering:

How do security staff at airports in India deal with turban-wearing passengers? Sikhs are far more common in India than in the US, so surely they must have developed policies that provide acceptable levels of aviation security while managing to not piss off every Sikh that passes through the airport. So what do they do?

For that matter, what about countries in which women are required (whether by custom or law) to cover their faces (thinking here of the niqab and the burqa and other garments like them)?

2

You’re not interested in how to manage kirpans? :slight_smile:

3

Whenever I left Saudi Arabia via Riyadh IAP, the women were all moved to a special room at the security line. I assume they remove their stuff and get checked there.

4

I flew from New Delhi to Bangalore, and just got in the shortest line at the security checkpoint, until the woman in front of me pointed out that I was in the women-only line. Apparently they segregate the security checkpoints by sex in India, which was new to me.

5

I’ve only flown in/out of Bangalore, but there were always signs in a few languages. But I can easily understand a tired traveler not noticing them.

6

I recently flew out of India, and I don’t remember seeing any men removing their turbans. You first passed through a metal detector, then were wanded head to toe whether you set off the detector or not. I didn’t see if there was extra attention paid to turbans during the individual inspection, but turban removal didn’t appear to be required.

As noted above, men and women had separate lines.

7

Even going into the fancy Indian hotels, there was a separate metal detector portal for women, with a small curtained area for more inspections. I assume India is something like 5% to 10% Muslim (still) and they accommodate that plus Hindus and other women who don’t want a man to be inspecting them too closely.

(This is the same country where an actor was fined for kissing his romantic lead in a recent film, IIRC)

8

What’s the big deal? Doesn’t the scanner that we walk thorough work at head level and scan the turban, just like other clothing?

9

In the airport I flew through, they didn’t have the full body scanners.

10

And they don’t have hand-held ones?

11

The same way they deal with Catholic Cardinals wearing skull caps, Jewish people wearing kippot, Gurkhas wearing their unique skull caps,
muslims wearing Kufi and many other head wear.

… and the way is with respect and compassion.

India has a multitude of religions and people have learnt over centuries to live respectfully and coexist. (Although recent politics may suggest otherwise). The Kerala Jews of India are probably the only Jews to not have experienced anti-semitism.